Piers

I think part of the issue with their early solo works' perception is the total beating they took at the hands of British music publication reviews. And those reviews honestly weren't rational. NME's review of Northern Star suggested someone should just shoot Melanie C to death...and that no court would try them of the crime because the album was so bad. Most of Victoria's reviews just accused her of being attention seeking and critique her as a media figure. There's hardly any mention of the music. And when there is a mention of the music (one review accuses A Mind Of Its Own of ripping off J Lo...huh?...), I'm not convinced the reviewer actually listened to anything. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I genuinely do think VB is a solid album for tracks 1-10 (and it loses me a bit with those last two songs). It's a perfectly likable album. Reviews of the time acting like it's an affront to the eardrums are absurd. And I never totally understood why Victoria was so hated by so many publications of the time. She was hardly outrageous. I remember the scandal over her wearing a lip ring in a Not Such An Innocent Girl performance...which seems so downright...quaint...by today's standards.

Oh. I just realized she posted her hangover today instead of Tuesday. It's Rainbow Woman. I like it. The lyrics are quite pretty. Of course, her talking all over it and cutting the song down is supremely annoying. But. I've talked about all that enough. I'll shut it. Anyone know when these newest songs came about and who she's worked with for them? I assume Traveling Light and Rainbow Woman are from some post-Hallelujah sessions? She seemed to be going a different direction with Hallelujah and Keep on Dreaming...but Traveling Light/Rainbow Woman sound to me like the kind of stuff that fits quite well with her Man on the Mountain material.

That'd make sense. It'd also explain that Mel C Can't Stay Tonight demo that leaked ages ago (...though for the life of me, I can't imagine the girls singing that chorus together and the song seems to mostly make sense as a Mel C solo..)

I thought this episode was cute...though her stepping on her kids' toys and burning the toast was pretty staged. lol. Two songs pop up this week. Both Deep Down and a new one I haven't heard yet (but sounds pretty good). I'm assuming the second one will be the new Tuesday Hangover. I do think there continues to be something of a missed opportunity in not having her family as characters. Geri's not reacting to much of anyone in these, and I think it'd be funnier if she were. Like...having her mom walking along like "Geri! Are you mad?! You're a terrible driver! You're going to drive a tank?!" And later...see Monty react in real time as his mom crushes cars under the tank wheels. Personally, I'd also ditch the forlorn piano music at the end for this one. It fit with the horse story. But here? It's crushing cars with tanks. A few of these should be straight up fun, I think. So. There's my worthless opinion for her crew.

^ Emma starts Weekend Love and Victoria starts Tell Me Why. The theory doesn't sound especially true to me either, though. I'm not going through all their b-sides and unreleased stuff. But if I were to go solely on whose voice is heard solo first on each song of album tracks...I'd guess it'd go... Emma - 8 Mel B - 7 Mel C - 9 Geri - 7 Victoria - 1 The above is pretty debatable. Mel C is technically heard first on a few songs like Say You'll Be There and Love thing (so I gave her the point)...but she doesn't have the first verse in those. I didn't give a point at all for Spice Up Your Life because the group carries it together for so long. Geri racked up several despite not even being on a third of the material. Victoria is only truly heard first in Tell Me Why. She has the first verse in Saturday Night Divas (a rarity for her), but I still clocked it for Geri just because of her solo "Saturday Night"s...but...I don't know...maybe Victoria should get that point. I think I had to be pretty bored to do this...lol.

The Grammys have always been kind of a head scratcher for me. I mean. I can generally watch a batch of movies and tell what the Oscars are going to like. A movie like, say, Wonder Woman may get glowing reviews, but everyone knows that's just not the kind of movie that gets nominated for Best Picture. The Oscars are largely predictable. In a way, the Grammys are less predictable and pretentious than the Oscars, I guess. Something fun and light and popular actually CAN get nominated at the Grammys (like Savage this year), but that makes it actually a little more confusing why certain other things get shut out. I get on a certain level that music industry insiders can recognize a level of excellence in releases that maybe I don't. But. To me? If I had to name the one song that truly summed up the year, it'd be Blinded by the Light. And it's a bit shocking to me that The Weeknd got shut out completely. And they've even recognized his work before. Anyway. It's not new. The Grammys famously shut out the Spice Girls after they conquered 1997. Madonna never won a Grammy for her music until the Ray of Light era...and that meant snubbing a whole lot of iconic stuff.

Ready for an unpopular opinion that I'd only make in the anonymity of a message board with a name that isn't really mine? Lol. It's not really one of my favorites of her videos. It's not because of its controversial nature. I just feel like it's got two distinct themes that are competing with each other. To me, everything in the church...the interaction with the statue, the choir, etc...fits perfectly with the song's theme of comparing a religious and sexual experience. But...because that aspect works so well, the second part of the video (the man wrongfully accused) doesn't get its due. I actually think the video should be more overt in showing the wrongful accusation as racism. It's kind of there...but had they really committed to the idea, I think there'd be more weight to the burning crosses showing up. So. Basically. I think the video's kind of a hat on top of a hat. I think the sex and religion stuff works. But the wrongful accusation storyline deserved its own separate video to fully explore the theme. Aaaaand I say all that knowing this is consistently ranked the best music video of all time, and therefore, I am likely 100% wrong. Lol. I adore the song and like about 70% of what the video does. As her controversial videos go, I actually like American Life and What It Feels Like For a Girl better as their focuses are more sharp.

So. With Mel C, a lot of it's targeted at Steps. Said they're not artists and musicians and don't belong in the same category as her...and thinks it's disgusting they, A1, and Westlife can get to #1. There's a lot about Geri. Doesn't like her hair. Doesn't like her music. Says she has bad breath. She goes after all the acts lip-syncing at Party in the Park (which is a bit odd...cause Victoria was lip-synching there that year). Calls Westlife a desperate band ripping off kids, and they make her sick (...these guys might deserve it, but I don't actually know if it was Mel C or Westlife who cast the first stone here). Says Girl Thing's management is ripping off the Spice Girls. Says Robbie Williams isn't any good in bed (lol) With Victoria...she talks about Geri quite a lot...but the gist is...she doesn't like her music, finds her desperate, and thinks her leaving didn't effect the group. Calls Naomi Campbell a bitch and a massive cow. Calls some TV show host (Rory McGrath?) an ugly bast*rd. Calls Robbie Williams desperate for the Rock DJ video. Calls Westlife boring. There's a bit of a spat with Sophie Ellis-Bextor...but it seems Sophie was the nastier of the two. That's what I remember off the top of my head. And that's only 2000. I thought I remembered Melanie C mostly getting nasty to other acts with the Reason era. But. There ya go. It truly was a different time. I think the Twitter era has dialed back some of the outwards feuding. It still happens, but I'm not sure people are quite so...frequently honest?

As for the George Michael song, I don't think they ever recorded that either. Supposedly, Michael's writing partner told a radio interview December Song was originally meant for the girls' Greatest Hits album...but they missed the deadline to submit it. A collab between Michael and the girls would seem like a great idea on paper, but the song seems quite wrong for the group. It's pretty overtly religious and a downer. Their Greatest Hits period is quite an odd time it seems. George Michael writes a song. Mel C's guitarist writes a song. Ne-Yo is asked to participate. But we end up with two Biffo tracks.

I've heard of If Ya Do as a rumored track too...but I can't seem to find anything about it now. I actually just scrolled through the old SpiceNews site articles from 2000...and didn't spot anything. Anyway. This was 20 years ago, so I could be off on this. But my memory is that If Ya Do was one of the rumored titles of Forever tracks that emerged in the months before the album release. Supposedly Emma revealed it? I thought some fan sites reported it at the time. I'm not sure I invest that much faith into the rumor. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think we ever saw writing credits spring up for an If Ya Do. Also...I find it a little unlikely they'd put an If Ya Do and an If You Wanna Have Some Fun on the same album. There were several odd song rumors floating around before Forever came out. Perhaps the oddest rumor was that a seven minute song called Bye was going to be included...which was mostly going to be them saying goodbye to the fans. Quick side note. Reading through those old Spice stories from 2000, Victoria and (especially) Mel C were pretty vicious to other acts in pop in *a lot* of interviews. A. Lot. Lol. They certainly didn't like Geri...

I mean. Who knows. It might be? I think in all likelihood, the girls did get offered the song by Riley. That part was reported by MTV...and I think everything MTV said about the girls back then turned out to be real or at least something that was genuinely in the pipeline. I'm just not convinced the group ever recorded it or even accepted the offer. Maybe that was part of the reason Riley was so sour to Mel B? He was trying to get the group for a project and only got a single member instead? I did always think one part of the story was especially odd...it was intended for the South Park movie soundtrack? That soundtrack ended up only having songs from the movie itself (which was a musical). What seems slightly more likely is that the song could have been for South Park's Chef Aid album released at the end of 1998...which did have a few big artists on it. Anyway. It's got my curiosity, but I don't think the girls not being on the song is any great loss. I like pretty much all of Forever better than Girlfriend/Boyfriend. I also think the song was a bit below Janet's usual standard in that time too. The old music video's a bit of a curiosity. Parts of it are actually quite creative and still look cool, but it's like they run out of money or effort or something at a a certain point.

I may have talked about it before...but Girlfriend/Boyfriend has always been especially interesting to me. I remember way back in mid-1998, MTV reported Teddy Riley had offered the song to the girls. As far as I can tell, everything after that has been tabloid speculation. Besides fan sites claiming it, do we actually know the girls recorded it? I'm fairly sure none of them have ever addressed that song in interviews. A clip leaked back then that was an obvious fake. Granted, Teddy Riley did go on to work with Mel B on Hot. She described him as being hard to work with...with a bad attitude and a lot of preconceived notions about her. To me...this doesn't especially sound like she had a prior working relationship with him from a Girlfriend/Boyfriend session. I guess it's always possible they didn't record it (or their recording was dumped) when two of the girls got pregnant and the group went on a hiatus (the song was eventually released in May '99 when the group would've been pretty unlikely to shoot a new video or promote it). One last thing. Anything else remember these rumored lyrics floating around in 1999? "Sugar and Spice, naughty and nice, glitter and ice, entice, Spice up your life not your baby's mom or wife." They sound pretty made up to me.

On the plus side, I really like the song. I typically like her stuff, but this one probably ranks among the top 5 of her post-Passion stuff for me. But. Y'know. I do find it aggressively annoying that the song's clearly cut down and she's talking over it about things like...her husband's cat allergy (...yes, really). I really like her. She can wear white all she wants as far as I'm concerned. If she wants to be regal, cool with me. But honestly. Teasing songs forever but never delivering is a genuine problem for her. The comments section of her videos is basically being overwhelmed by people fighting over this issue. If the primary response to this Youtube channel is arguments among the fanbase on how the songs are presented...something needs to get fixed. If there was a clear plan to get the real songs out there, then cool. I'd roll with the teases. But there's not. And after nine years of her sometimes teasing a new album, I think it's a little naive at this point to expect her to actually deliver anything she's teasing.

It's fine. It's heartfelt. The videography is still excellent. Though. Audio issues in her interview sprang up briefly in the last video...and they're far more pronounced this time. These videos look too sharp in their production to let consistent audio glitches happen. Switch out the mic, and don't drop the ball on the gig over that. I think the new song's really pretty, actually. I am starting to wonder if she's only going to be featuring her more inspirational tracks. The ones featured so far definitely have a certain vibe. I was kinda hoping she'd at least do a video fun enough to feature a Phenomenal Woman or something. I also kinda wonder if any of these adventures (?) would make sense to feature the excellent Without Love. Several of her yet-to-be-released songs (this one, Love and Light, and the original mix of Man on the Mountain) remind me a lot of a song called Home by Phillip Phillips. I've wondered if that song was an influence. It was a huge hit in the US when it came out in 2012...and it still gets used in movie trailers and commercials to this day. It doesn't appear to have been an especially big hit in other parts of the world. Though. It was originally the first release of one of the American Idol winners, so there's a bit of a Simon Fuller/19 connection maybe.

^ I was never totally clear on how we ended up with Geri's album and Song For Her (...in terms of where the fans got it...) I do remember how we got Kennedy's abandoned Forever tracks. Someone pretended to be Simon Fuller (or a rep for him) and tricked him into sending over the four songs. Geri's album is a bit more complicated an issue, though. While Kennedy did produce Song For Her, Love and Light, and Man on the Mountain (...and maybe some others I don't remember), a lot of that leaked album is also work Geri did with Amy Wadge and Absolute. I guess it's plausible Kennedy would have all the material...not necessarily just his stuff. If it really is his fault that Song For Her and the Geri album got out there...then...wow...he let a lot slip into the public in a short space of time. I guess just about the only Kennedy thing we don't have yet are the early solo Victoria tracks he supposedly did (pretty sure this was supposed to be pre-Out of Your Mind stuff).

To be fair, this version is quite different from the leaked one. I realize I just got done griping about how I like the leaked version a lot better. Lol. (What can I say...the noisier something is, the better I like it) But. Put that aside. There’s a legitimacy that comes with a more official release. This version of the song has her backing, and while I might like the earlier mix better, I genuinely do want to hear her actual vision. Who knows what stage that other version came from and if she ever intended for us to hear it like that? I’d agree that it wasn’t right for her music to leak. But it’s perhaps also odd for her to tease songs for years upon years. I don’t think she’s trolling us. I don’t think that at all. She’s not a troll. I think she’s genuinely oblivious to how her fans are reacting to the constant teases without getting the songs in a legit form. Anyway. I’ve been a fan this long. I’m not going anywhere. But considering how long we’ve been waiting to hear the Geri-approved versions of this material...it kinda stands to reason that some of us would think we’re not going to get it this time either... (Also. To be clear. I have zero expectation of a new physical Geri album. I’m only looking for her to release *her* versions on YouTube)

We technically have heard the earlier versions of these songs through the leak. So. That does at least take away from the annoyance a bit. But I’m certainly curious to hear what’s kinda...the official version of the songs. Here’s the thing. If not for the leak, Geri has basically been teasing the same songs for five years. You get a little snippet in an Elmo video. You get little snippets in her baking videos. She does interviews about them. Then, when she finally claims she’s going to give you some full songs...nope. It’s yet another tease. Is she testing the water for a Spotify release? I kinda doubt it. Has she been testing the water for Spotify for the last five years?

I'm generally a defender of her solo ambitions. I genuinely like the vast majority of her music. I've even come to view this Youtube channel as a kinda creative way of getting around some hurdles in getting her music heard. But. Geri...This. Is. Not. It. What a mess. The song's cut down to only two minutes. She talks all over it. This version sounds like a demo for the (to me) incomparably better version that leaked a few years ago. Does anyone honestly like this version better? She's had major success in stages of her career. Her team seems sharp in their videography. How could this many people get it this wrong? Ugh. Geri! Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. On a minor plus side...there are a lot of comments of complaint. So. Maybe her team will get the message. Duh.

I kinda realize these things are more meant to be bought than actually listened to. It's for a good cause, and I'm certainly not going to take away from that. And I guess the thought is...by including this many big artists, they can get some sales from a whole lot of different fanbases. But. Y'know. These sorts of singles tend to get released...and then promptly disappear like they never happened. I always think...would the single not actually sell more for the cause if they scaled it down and made it a duet between, say, just Cher and Kylie?

That's definitely true that no matter how much the public's perception changes, another hit isn't likely to come. The world is waking up to a lot of injustices...but ageism isn't one of them...and beats me if we'll ever get there. It's not really even part of the discussion. I guess I'd like for her public perception to change for this reason; Despite their career ups and downs, I think the first thing most people think of when they hear the names Mariah Carey or Whitney Houston would be..."great voices" or "great songs". Most people. Their career achievements outweigh the downs in their careers. I think it's getting to the point with Madonna where her downs are outweighing the ups in the public eye...with her name too quickly conjuring the image of a woman in a milk bath giving oddball speeches. And I don't like that for an artist that truly helped shape the modern music landscape...and has so many amazing songs in her vault (many of which carry her writing credit). I'm just hoping for a tour that doesn't come with the added baggage of "...but it went on three hours late" or a biopic without reviews claiming "...Madonna directs unwatchable self-absorbed pity party."

Yeah. My general feeling watching this was I was watching little selected clips from a series...not watching the series itself. I think it'd be nice to have a few more characters in the mix...and hopefully future installments will get there. Beats me if her husband wants in this...but Bluebell and Geri's mother would seem to be good additions to have around. I get that Geri's not wanting to do the usual train wreck/family drama reality TV thing with this. But having women of multiple generations of the family in the mix would seem to add to the vibe she's going for. I did think she came across well in the video. I saw she posted something on Insta about uploading a "hangover" to Youtube on Tuesday. I assume that'll be the song? Both Man on the Mountain and Love and Light are featured in this episode...so...kinda makes me wonder which we might be getting. Man on the Mountain, I assume.

A side note about this. I've known people who have worked the production of her tours...and they've said the late shows are because M insists on two-hour mic checks. They've told me she's the only act in the biz who does this. I only halfway follow the logic of that. When I saw her, a DJ opened...and then we all sat there for another two-and-a-half hours waiting. She wasn't doing a mic check during all that time? But maybe the long mic checks delay other things getting done in prep? Beats me.

The biopic probably has the best chance of improving the general public's view of her as anything. Whether it turns out amazing or terrible, this will be a permanent part of her legacy...and that's why it's so important the right team brings it to life. As I mentioned before, a Diablo Cody screenplay was the right first step. I honestly don't think there's anyone better for the job. I realize there's something a bit interesting about a director basically creating an autobiographical film. But. While I think it's a good idea for M to be around as a consultant, I think there's something to be said for an impartial voice being involved. The surviving members of Queen famously wanted Freddie to die midway through Bohemian Rhapsody...and have the second half show the band soldiering on without him. The public would have hated that film. But impartial voices created the film that became an enormous hit. Considering M's disdain for public expectations, she could be setting this up for major disappointment. Plus...while she's an artist, I'm not sure her aesthetic choices in recent years will make for a particularly liked film. God forbid the song performances in this thing end up as the unwatchable chaos that is her tour DVDs. I keep harping on it, but Patty Jenkins is the woman for the job. Female director. She did gritty with Charlize Theron in Monster. She did a commercial hit with Wonder Woman. She's just the right person to balance the combo of edgy and commercial that has been the best known moments of M's career.

Yeah. I knew some people wouldn't like those comments on her tours...lol. I'm not meaning to be totally negative. I actually really enjoyed the show. I'm a longtime fan, and I know the catalogue. So. I'll probably have a good time no matter what she trots out. But I'm talking about general ticket buyers here. If you were doing a dissection of the Rebel Heart tour...the general public doesn't know the first four songs...then they get a little snippet of Vogue. Another three songs they don't know. True Blue on a ukulele. The main moments that felt full-on...where hit songs were played to their full potential were Music, Material Girl, and Holiday. (Deeper and Deeper was actually my favorite moment...but my perception is that it's better known by fans than the GP in the US). The reviews from publications are good because the shows are technically excellent. I'm just reporting back what I experienced. I was smiling as I left the show. But a lot of people around me were miffed over it starting three hours late...and confused why half of what they heard was songs they didn't know. And yes, many artists focus on their current album on tour. But they're artists who are still a force on the charts. Whether it's fair or not, M's on her third album that's been largely ignored by the GP (despite good first week chartings for the albums). Those legacy artists who play the hits know doing so is their longevity as a touring act. It's good business to do that. Is there another artist of M's stature and career longevity who doesn't? Honestly, name one. She's a legend, and she can do what she wants. I'll try to be there any time she tours close by. But we have to entertain the notion that her playing theaters instead of stadiums and arenas might not actually be by choice.

I thought she said in her Insta live that the songs were going to play at the end of each video? Technically, a small bit of Love and Light does play at the end of this one...so I really hope that's not what she was referring to. As to the video itself, it's cute. The photography is honestly excellent. Besides some audio glitches toward the end of her interview (which would have been an easy fix...), her team's doing a good job. In terms of storytelling, there's part of me that wishes a few minutes were spent at the start of this one...reintroducing her family as characters in this series...seeing where she lives...talking about what she's doing. Instead...it's a bit...'okay, we're goin' up a mountain!' My major disappointment is the new version of Man on the Mountain being used. What I liked about the version we've previously known was the combination of guitar and dancey elements. I always found that one really beautiful. It's probably one of my three favorites of her recent-ish material. The new one robs it of the fun. I guess I'm going to have to grin and bear it cause this is seemingly the official version. I can remember Geri also scaled down Back in Business at one point. So. I hope she hasn't gone through and stripped a bunch of her songs of their energy in some attempt at maturity. At least it sounds like Love and Light has been untouched.