1 post tagged “river phoenix”
Hi. I decided to make a listblog about my favorite famous men. Some are talented, some are ridiculously good-looking, some are geniuses, but all have something about them that make them worthy of mention. In other words, they're a-ok in my book, er, blog. Anyway, I'm just going to talk about them because I think they're cool, perhaps even influential. I was thinking about putting them in some kind of order, but that might take a long time. We'll see what I come up with. I've already spent a small fortune of my time uploading their handsome mugs onto this thing. Here's the primary installment.
First things first. River Phoenix. May he rest in peace. I am not particularly familiar with his fanbase or the events surrounding his death fifteen years ago, but I know that I first discovered who he was because of a teen idol calendar I got out of an issue of BOP when I was a preteen. It listed famous cute boys' birthdates. And it listed his death date. Halloween, 1993. I was mystified. An actual modern-day tragic teen idol. He was as old as I am now when he died which means that I was but a wee lass at the time. I didn't get to see any of his films until I was in high school. I had no way of actually looking him up until our technology class introduced web-based search engines and IMDB (strange how that's so commonplace now). His life wasn't catalogued anywhere in the school's library and none of my classmates knew who he was. It felt like that modern-day tragic teen idol I had imagined was false and forgotten and I almost lost hope that he ever existed. I didn't even know what he looked like until I saw him in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade one day after school. After I became an avid cinephile, I can now say that most of his film roles were bittersweet and golden. In particular, Stand by Me, I Love You to Death (so funny!), and of course, My Own Private Idaho. I don't think a guy like him is going to appear on the film scene anytime soon. It's a shame that he was a victim of his own vices. But, one thing is for certain. He was beautiful. Rufus Wainwright knew what he was talking about when he wrote his charmingly vaudevillian song about River. So young was the matinee idol.
Ah, Rufus Wainwright, my gay messiah. I've loved him for many years now. I had no idea who he was as I fawned over a copy of the Moulin Rouge! soundtrack I just had to get my hands on within the weeks it hit theaters. I knew who most of the "various artists" were. Beck. Duh. Bowie. Double duh. Fatboy Slim. Heck yeah (at the time). U2. Ick. And then: Rufus Wainwright. Wha? He's probably some folk-singing old hack. I was completely and life-changingly wrong. Complainte de la butte was love in audio. The melody was so plaintive, but the singing was more so plaintive. And very lovely. I have searched far and wide on the interweb to find the rarest of his tracks. I love all of his french recordings. Even the non-comprehensible Le Roi D'ys. And he is a musical genius. His compositions are epic, brassy, and WONDER in my ears. I dream of one day seeing him live. I love each of his albums. Want One and Two: Original, fancy. Poses: a class act. Rufus Wainwright: poetic, uncommon. And his newest is pretty special too. I'd go so far as to say Rufus Wainwright has since influenced the way I listen to music, no matter what song it is. There is only one other musician who affects me this way...
There is no way to completely describe the undeniable talent that came from Jeff Buckley. His light still burns brightly in the hearts and minds of many musicians, I'm sure. There have been countless artists who have dedicated or tributed songs to him (Memphis Skyline being one of the best out there). Like a few of the other people I plan to feature on these weekly odes, I discovered him after his life. If I were to describe the listening experience of only one song with only one word, that song would be Mojo Pin and that word would be infectious. Well, all of his songs are like this. I love Satisfied Mind, Jewel Box, Morning Theft, Lover, You Should Have Come Over, Dream Brother, New Year's Prayer, and What Will You Say? I can't say his songs are timeless, however. His voice is distinct, organic and straight out of the zany, spirited heart of the 90s. This does not mean that his numerous cover songs are null and void. He breathes new life into these songs. One of the most surprising of his recordings is his beautiful rendition of Nina Simone's The Other Woman. He made Dido's Lament a near manifestation of the tragic queen herself. Who could forget Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah? Jeff Buckley was a live wire, full of spark and vibrancy, with the voice to match. Now, more than ten years after his death, each of his heavenly melodies is a wished-for song.
I can try to guess what you're thinking. Up until this point, I'd been making some sort of connection with one subject after the next, making interesting and appropriate segues into the next homme du moment. Well, don't laugh, but James Franco is perhaps the first person I would choose to play Jeff Buckley in a movie. There. There's your transitional phrase. I think James Franco is bad ass. And he still feels the pain of the short life of Freaks and Geeks! Or so this cutting-room floor piece suggests. Hint, it is a joke. I am a closet Tristan and Isolde fan, yes I am. Not a joke. And though I haven't seen either of the Spider-Man sequels, (a girl has to have some sense of what's good for her), I'm pretty sure he was hot in them. I guiltily admit to renting Flyboys and wishing for the movie to be better than it was. But why should I feel guilty? Isn't he a talented actor? Didn't he seamlessly play James Dean and win a Golden Globe for it? Isn't James Franco a bona fide artist? Yes. The answer is absolute. This guy is misunderstood. This guy is real. And this guy knows how to nurture his profession the fun way. With kitties.
Alternately, Jude Law treats his profession with grace and english-ness. He'll put your eyes at ease. Um... er... all I've been talking about thus far have been about actors and musicians. Believe me, I'm going to talk about more of them later. But do not fear, I also like poets, novelists, filmmakers, a couple of psychotic recluses and Abraham Lincoln. Since I am not too much of a science or technology-savvy kind of girl, I can't say that I know that much in the realm of superior, non-liberal arts intelligence. One notable scientist I can say I'm affected by is Al Gore, inventor of the internet. Other than that, Carl Sagan What? Steve Jobs Who? Richard Feynman Whats-its? I digress. I've got to get back on track before I type all the way to the bottom of Jude Law's picture. Oops, I already did. Oh, well. The only thing I was really going to say about Jude Law was that everyone in high school knew me as the girl who had a Jude Law photo album inserted in the last section of her binder, behind the pink divider tab labeled "husband."
I wonder if all this talk about men makes me seem too girly or weird. I just thought it would be a good idea to discuss some reasons why I like, appreciate, and have a crush on these particular lesser halves. Is that so bad?
