Michael Stipe to Produce Barry Manilow Movie
 
Part of me wants to run for cover and the other part of me actually has to appreciate it considering that I grew up in a household where my mother played Barry Manilow all the time. His songbook is etched in my memory as part of the 70’s, along with the Six Million Dollar Man, CHIPs, All in the Family, and as far as music is concerned, Dolly Parton and Saturday Night Fever come to mind. Stipe and Single Cell will be looking into developing a movie based on the music of Barry Manilow.
 
And possibly with a ‘Love Actually’ feel to it, it could work out. Stay tuned.
 

CIAO My Shining Star – The Songs of Mark Mulcahy
 
Sometimes I appreciate the tribute to music of the lesser known stars.  A U2 “Tribute” record is surely not going to have anyone respect or admire or educate a band about U2. Now there might be small thought that it would be nice to have “Lemon” as a polka song but all in all, tribute albums work much better pitting famous artists and their lesser known icons.
 
CIAO My Shining Star, is a tribute for Mark Mulcahy, the lead singer in the 80’s band ‘Miracle Legion’ as well as a solo artist for several years. Miracle Legion was oft-compared to R.E.M. in their sound and style during this period.
 
The CD does feature a song by Michael Stipe, ‘Everything’s Coming Undone’, a relatively simple track that plays to Stipe’s style. In many respects, it feels like ‘Everybody Hurts Part 2’ or at least the epilogue to that song. What I do like is that Stipe does not try to reproduce the original but rather add his own feeling and music to the song making it feel...um...slightly original.
 
This song is much better than some of the other Stipe solo projects as of late, at least from this critical ear.