Funky Divas At 20

I came across an article in May 2008 that Dawn Robinson rejoined former group members Cindy Herron, Terry Ellis, and  Maxine Jones on some dates performing as En Vogue just April of that year.  On some dates, second replacement member Rhona Bennett filled in.  I was thinking, great… four original members on some gigs are better than no appearance together. But I didn’t think of the semi reunion much… in 2005, Robinson also briefly reunited with En Vogue only to back out soon after.  Apparently, business talks failed to come to a favorable agreement.

Rhona Bennett performs with Terry and Maxine during one of Cindy's maternity leaves.

I have this habit of checking up pop culture favorites and non-favorites — authors, actors, musicians, business people, companies, animators, thinkers, painters, toys, politicians, graphic artists, photographers — on their latest stuff when they have ‘em… one of the reasons I’m thankful we have the Net now (DSTS: yet another way of wasting time.  Get to work, woman!).  This kind of proves the saying you know you’re no longer young when you find yourself reminiscing more often than you used to.

So anyway, today I decided to look up old groups I liked when I was in high school.  After covering pop and grunge, I went on to R&B.  I look up En Vogue again and saw a Youtube post of EV on The View on May 11, when they announced their 20th anniversary tour… with Dawn Robinson.

The ladies today: Maxine Jones, Dawn Robinson, Cindy Herron, Terry Ellis. Look at Cindy's waist. She had four kids, dammit...

Before I go further… it’s actually been 20 years since that group was put together?  Man, now I really feel old.

I’m not a die hard fan — I also liked their contemporaries, SWV, TLC, Xscape, to name a few… but En Vogue had their own thing.  The group was conveniently classified into R&B, but then their sound and image were not exactly like those of most groups.  They started out looking like the usual 90s act — wore Color Me Badd-ish multicolored shorts with matching suit jackets on Oprah —  but eventually En Vogue projected kind of more like elegant, earthy glam, and many a fanboy rhapsodized about their classiness.  Brownstone and The Braxtons would come close, but not quite.  And yet whenever I caught them on TV (light skits, guesting in sitcoms; interviews), they came across as funny (nerdy nerds in A Different World) , accessible and down-to-earth, which was a refreshing change to the usual bitchy diva or keepin’ it real gangsta image many female R&B artists insisted on then. 

The package was pretty and well-balanced, designed for easy marketing.  Tall and svelte, Cindy Herron, a former beauty pageant contestant, I imagined, was drafted mainly to hook in mainstream pop consumers and people outside the general African-American audience.  In a funny bit they performed on In Living Color, she was heckled by Wanda (a hilarious cross-dressing, strategically-padded, perpetually puckered Jamie Foxx) as “light-skinned!”  The pretty, doe-eyed Terry Ellis had a girl-next-door charm; she had an engaging sense of humor and played off hosts the best during live interviews.  Maxine Jones is petite with a beauty that’s truly sista; her eyes are warm and beautiful with an interesting shade (not contacts).  I think many fans didn’t pay much attention to her as she was kind of serious and quiet when she talks, but I found her appealing and she displayed this enlightened quality.  I also thought her gap-toothed smile, more prominent in the earlier years, added much to that appeal.  She demonstrated the best acting abilities of the four members (seen when EV guested on Roc).  And we come to Dawn Robinson; I thought she had a very interesting combination of facial features.  Her eyes were sultry, like narrowed cat’s eyes, and she had full pouty lips.  She’s the youngest member, described as “feisty” by her older colleagues, and was acknowledged the real sexy one — out of their costumes, Cindy, Max and Terry rarely wore clothing that showed shoulders, legs, the midriff and a bit of cleavage like Dawn did.  They were attractive, but somehow their attractiveness never intimidated.  Sudden flashback on the number of hours spent trying to copy their sashaying walk in the video for “My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It)”.  And no, I didn’t get it (surprise), but it was fun — and funny — trying!

Of course, there’s the undeniable talent.  An En Vogue trademark was flawless three-part harmony in addition to all four members being capable of singing pyrotechnic leads, despite different vocal styles.  Cindy’s was the pop sounding lead voice — lighter than the rest and smooth, but with good strength; Maxine’s style of singing lead, I think, had the most sass and personality; Terry’s soulful, emotional solos are put to use in good parts of earnest love songs, and Dawn’s leads fairly crackled with spontaneity and passion.  I found it pleasant to see each member take turns being leads, unlike most groups that usually delegated lead vocals to one or two members (Mr. and Mrs. Knowles?  You couldn’t have been more subtle).

The earlier years saw En Vogue having more of a pop kind of R&B sound, very similar to the freestyle groups popular at the end of the 80s, and during this period Cindy usually led the fast songs (“Lies”, “Hold On”, “You Don’t Have To Worry”) with Terry taking over for ballads and syncopated solos (“Don’t Go”, the intro for “Hold On”).  Funky Divas showed more self-assured performances from the members, with Dawn and Maxine being featured on many singles (“Giving Him Something He Can Feel”, “My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It)”, “Give It Up, Turn It Lose”, “Free Your Mind”).  Eventually exposure balanced out for all four.  My particular favorite EV song/video was “Runaway Love”, because Cindy and Terry each had a verse, Dawn broke it down in the bridge, and Maxine did the Barry White bit (spoken parts and bass) all throughout.  

At the peak of their popularity Dawn Robinson decided to leave the group to find herself and do different things.  Noted she didn’t become more popular than when she was with En Vogue, likewise EV3, while good, was not quite right, seemed like something was missing.  En Vogue almost faded to obscurity; not being songwriters, I guess the four depended on producers for the direction of their materials, which, after 1997, never surpassed what they were able to achieve in their heydey.  

Early replacement member Amanda Cole (right), when Maxine took time off for family and business.

Of course, there were also the years when Maxine Jones and Cindy Herron alternately took time off for family matters, thus introducing the replacement members Amanda Cole, then Rhona Bennett (a former Mouseketeer!). Performances were adequate but the magic wasn’t the same. 

Now all four ladies are back again, and for forty-year-olds they look great.  They were celebrity contestants for charity on Don’t Forget The Lyrics and they still sound great (Wayne Brady was, like, whoa, dream come true!).  There are talks of a 20th anniversary album. I have their Greatest Hits compilation in addition to Funky Divas and EV3… what are the chances to have the next album with new songs?  

Dawn, you’ll probably have your personal growth projects and valid issues with management and producers again, but please for the love of fans stay with the group, at least long enough for you and the girls churn out a couple of good albums again.  I’m asking this after years of having to sit though airplays of  Destiny’s Child (okay, Destiny’s Child occasionally worked on me, but the herky-jerky moves and wobbling repetitive lyrics in chorus can only take me so far… and how can I invest fan interest in DC for team dynamics when it’s really just Beyonce with conveniently shuffled back-ups?), Girlicious (seriously, aargh), and the Pussycat Dolls (a bunch of prancing Vegas showgirls installed with Nicole Shershrzzzthesinger).  Show ‘em how it’s done!  Don’t change your mind soon and happy touring.

I Thought Filipinos Were Known For Their Uniquely Outstanding Sense Of Humor

Look, I am all for national pride, patriotism, and all things good, but isn’t this recent uproar over Desperate Housewives a little OA?   

First, Desperate Housewives is a primetime TV show that touches comedy.  Being primetime entertainment, it’s also one step above afternoon soap operas… therefore people take it seriously? Then again it may be said that Filipinos are people who take primetime TV seriously… soap operas, even more so.

Second, Susan Mayer, Teri Hatcher’s character, is supposed to be the ditziest, the most exasperating, and most annoying of all the Housewives.  What do you expect from her character’s lines?  She was written that way.

Third, other ethnic groups have been the butt of jokes, why were those funny and not done in bad taste.  In the show, Susan Mayer is Jewish and quite dim, Gabrielle Solis is a Latina with a penchant for unnecessary melodrama, Bree Van De Kamp’s a delicious parody of neurotically uptight white Americans.  The second season featured Alfre Woodard, who is black, with a good-looking but violently unstable son.  I understand the Filipino communities were miffed because they feel they’ve contributed enough to their society to deserve this low blow.  But in movies and TV, how many times have, say, African Americans, Chinese Americans, Korean Americans, Indian Americans, Italian Americans, Jewish Americans  been made fun of compared to Filipino Americans?  Many times over.

I’m not saying what the writers wrote was the smartest thing, but don’t Filipino TV writers also take potshots at other races in our TV shows?  From the days of John En Marsha,even earlier and beyond, I’ve lost count of skits on pongas with intsik-accented Tagalog, unsightly (to a culture steeped in colonial mentality) egoys, smelly five-sixing bumbays, and stupid ‘kanos.  Filipinos have programmed some unkind stereotyping into their brains, too.

It’s like that recent gag on Comedy Central concerning Cory Aquino that was meant to have an effect like George W. Bush’s picture labeled with “genius” underneath.  Again, people, it’s COMEDY CENTRAL.  It’s not like some senator like Miriam-Defensor Santiago, who should be ideally a dignified public official, making a callous slur on Chinese to make a point — these the people she’s also tasked to maintain diplomatic relations with.  And at a formal senate hearing investigating a transaction with ZTE, no less, broadcast on serious news programs that are potential resources for serious international news.  How are you going to argue technical correctness when you’re biting the hands that you’ve begged to feed you?  She later apologizes and says it was a joke meant to illustrate a point — like that would make things OK.  “Sorry for bashing you guys earlier, now about that kickback you promised…”  I will not be surprised if another TV series will pick on how things are done by politicians here, we’re kind of asking for it.

If by some miracle we realize we have a sense of dignity after all and not tolerate this kind of funny stuff, emulating the rest of our anal-retentive Asian neighbors, why don’t we do as they did and apply killer discipline, focusing on things we could fix, like getting our education system at par with the times?  We already had a headstart in Southeast Asia, but sadly, we’re now left in the kangkungan.  It’s a far cry from the days when people from Hong Kong were the ones coming to Manila to find work, and our folks were grooming us to be doctors, lawyers, architects.  In stark contrast, today, thousands of domestic helpers and technicians fly to Hong Kong to find work, and the current goal of many parents for their brood is showbiz. And about that.  The LEAST we could do is hammer the lyrics of Philippine anthem deep into these cute, little showbiz heads so they won’t embarrass anybody like crap when they’re tagged to sing it on the already rare occasions when people actually win something on behalf of the country. We could improve the way our board exams are regulated to prop up our professional credibility.  We could stabilize the local economy and update our laws, so everyone can get a life.  I mean, if living in this country takes care of everything from worthwhile activities to all types of self-fulfilment, who has time to look for a job abroad?

Then the Philippines’ finest doctors, among others, would stay here instead of immigrating to countries like the US, saving hundreds of hospitals across this country from closing down, and the Desperate Housewives writers would’ve used another third world country’s education standards to zing Susan Mayer’s punch line — it’s kind of ironic the Filipino communities would have no problem finding that funny, ‘no?

Stay In School?

Errors in published materials, be they in print, aired on TV or radio, or online, unnerve me.  I mean, sure, people make mistakes — I do — but respected institutions have standards to uphold!  When you see something flawed associated to those institutions, makes you wonder how the heck the pen wielders passed screening at all.  Or if there are still standards.

It’s certainly a turn-off when I see their transposed with there or they’re. We have self-promoting, well-blogging writers who still confuse it’s with its and vice versa; we have numerous others who use just the apostrophe to denote ownership just because the singular noun ends with s. 

It also happens some pros just upgraded to a new level.  Wandered onto an old entertainment article from Manila Bulletin Online and behold a sample:

… Dennis is a spendthrift (kuripot), Popoy, his manager confirms. He doesn’t shop impulsively, he dresses simply, and he really takes good care of his money, even going to the bank himself, regularly, to watch it grow. This gives him a special thrill, Popoy said.

They could opt for something safe for this kind of talent, you know, like writing lyrics set to today’s pop.  Or rock.  Or kitsch.  But this is the Manila Bulletin. 

Should’ve nixed the translation and no one would know any better.  And who taught this… journalist… English?  Or Filipino?  Who’s the editor?  They should be jailed.

Absolutely No Place Like It

One cold day in December, DSTS harrumphed and proclaimed, “By George, Jillybean, dark sister of Dune, forsooth thine and mine non-refundable ticket left for this moon.  Shouldst we tarry and hie ourselves home?”  It’s the end of the year and we’re behind quota but what the heck, most everyone else were going away, anyway.  Insanity must be catching.  So I agreed… we shouldst.

Alas, the flight home did not end with me going home directly to my toasty nooks in the Tobacco House of lupang tinubuan, the better to take care of leftover work.  Going home went about several days later, and after those several days we still needed to check in between for stuff and more stuff.  Manila’s not the best option but there we were.  It’s noisy, it’s loaded with annoying strangers who may mug you, but it’s been like a second home since I was three years old.  And until I leave for Poor, Poor Village again, I am happy.  In my own way.  Really. 

Work cleaved to us for the first for days — there were these assessments, and e-mail, and visa, and catalog, and style guide, and durnit, can’t I just leave these and not worry about getting sacked in January.  There went the teeniest chance to see the Goblet Of Fire film in which they removed Winky, Dobby, and Rita Skeeter in a jar.

That Metro Manila Film Festival is a sneaky thing.  You know what happened to ensure I do not ignore it?  They have Mulawin the Movie.  It’s a sequel thingie where Aguiluz and Alwina somehow get separated again.  Now we see a scene with Alwina waking up in… Lireo!  Why, that’s semi-wimpy Amihan!  And Pirena is still EBIL!  GAWD!  Now I have to think about moving with the throng just because my campy favorites have parts in that movie. 

Because of all the work since the episode where Danaya turned into a rat, I missed the rest of Encantadia.  But I am satisfied with the ending helpfully narrated by Dozer_021 in which Pirena returns to take her place with her sisters after getting Imaw’s staff (dirty!) to see the truth behind all the, er… paglilinlangs.  The best part was all those annoying Starstruck characters DIED!  Including Lira!  Mua-ha-ha!  And now Danaya gets to become queen and even Pirena agrees.  So there.

Not to disappoint me for ending may favorite best-dressed objects of snark, we’re now presented with a prequel-sequel called Etheria.  The writers are now mining the He-Man/She-ra compendium.  Etheria revolves around Cassiopeia’s prediction when she was a teen that when the last sanggre is born, a previously defeated, warlike race called Etherians will come back to defeat the peaceful fairies (who propagated the age of Encantadia).  Which is a hoot, because Lira died, she didn’t have a kid at all.  But Cassiopeia must’ve heard about Dolly and took a hair from Lira to clone the last sanggre.  Isn’t that like, cheating, just because you foretold the key was the last sanggre and she died?  And the actor who played the younger Cassiopeia speaks straight Tagalog.  Beats me how she grew up to have Cindy Kurleto’s accent.  Wha-… Cassiopeia is the half sister of Queen Dawn!  And Queen Dawn was half-Etherian!  Queen Dawn’s name is Mine-a!  But Cassiopeia is the rightful Queen!  The first!  And Mine-a will be the Second!  Okay, that makes Amihan just the third and Danaya the fourth.  Empire’s kinda young, and its future might be handed over to a clone from Lira’s hair?  Which is played by that pretty Starstruck kid who plays creepy characters on movies and TV shows.  And there’s a Sex Bomb dancer modeled after the legend of Atlanta!  Just my luck… costumes still look great.  How the heck can I subaybay this series, hum?

My family and DSTS’s mom are fans of Jewel In The Palace.  It’s a TV Koreanovela that was popular in most Asia based on a historical character who was revered as a female physician.  But she started off as a great royal cook.  I watched it and it is interesting… kind of like a cross between MacGyver, Eat Drink Man Woman, Knots Landing, and a chapter of world history.

Speaking of food, I already had relleno, ice cream cake, bibingka, and sisig.  Here’s to getting some more.

Also attended a couple of family gatherings and a wedding of two friends who’ve been together since college graduation.  The traffic was horrible (we didn’t make the ceremony after spending a couple of hours on just two main intersecting avenues), but Bai and Yayis, you guys looked great.  Tata, Em, and Dony… where were you guys? 

Dynamic Noyce introduces a new guy who seems nice.  Hoping for the best, girl, I think he’s okay.  Intrepid Cath’s just as frustrated as I am on the guy-being-dependent-on-the-girl-for-directions-when-they’re-together-and-driving thing.  I hope to try and squeeze in more get togethers with friends if I can, I really miss talking with y’all while I’m stuck over there.  Believe me… only you guys understand that my semi-autism is not such a bad thing.  Sorry, you get no prize.  ‘Cause we’re tight.  Aight?  Getting into the spirit of the holidays, I hope we’re still rocking even when Friendster becomes holographic. 

DSTS is The Punisher on his birthday.  I’m just saying, it’s fine to help other people, but don’t push it, man.  As of today, cruising is off-limits (watched some CSI lately?).

Finally rewrote the blog entry, I Did, which disappeared about two months ago for who knows why.  Not the same as the original, but there you go.  Some Friendster-endorsed blog writers talk of the same thing happening in their blogs.  Anybody osmosising and fixing this yet or do we resort to propagating bulletin chain letters in faux Latin, just lemme know.

I guess in spite of everything I do NOT welcome to be with me on this vacation but do tolerate out of what goodness that’s left in my heart… it’s really great to be home in December.

A Study Of Evolution

From Leif To Edie Britt

Exhibit A

This is probably the freshest, non-cosmetics-nor-plastics-looking Nicollette Sheridan face I’ve ever seen.  It’s apparent she started with the sluttish persona very early, though.  Here, she’s posing with Leif Garrett, the 70s musician teen sensation to whom she was involved with for six years… so she’s about 15 to 21 years old here.  I think I saw Leif Garrett while going through my uncle’s ancient stash of phonograph albums once, but I was distracted with the One Way Ticket and Le Chic 45 records (hee), and Andrew Lloyd Webber, Crosby Stills & Nash, Three Degrees, Romeo & Juliet, Melody Fair, and Abba’s The Visitors; therefore, I am unable to connect a tune to Leif Garrett.  This is a bit distressing for me right now when I’ve a tic to cram every meandering information to a subject for an entry and not be scolded for it.  Anyway, you can see for yourself how bushy eyebrows were so in come the 80s.  No, those spots aren’t huge moles.  Hey, it’s got Leif Garrett in it; the picture is old. 

Exhibit B

Next, we have Paper Dolls Nicollette, post crackhead Leif and at the start of her showbiz career.  See, no moles here.  We note much of bikini-ing at every start of this sort of career.  How is it this California bleach blonde look with the sun-dried looking effect so wonderful then and looks so split end-y today?  Someone give this picture a gallon of hair serum.  I tell you, fashion really is nuts; I do not regret I chose to emulate Wednesday Addams after going through adolescence.  It is by this time Nicolette aced the conflict love interest for John Cusack and Daphne Zuniga’s The Sure Thing.  We have mega chubbage around the face lost here.  Skin Coppertoned, eyebrows trimmed, baby fat shed, and Scott Baio-dated… clearly, better things will be coming her way, as the mark od Scott Baio always promised in the 80s.  And was there any 80s blond starlet that Scott Baio didn’t date? 

 

Exhibit C

This is Knots Landing Nicollette, with hair and tanning lotion toned down.  We have less of her bikini vixens and more of heavy-lidded, arched-eyebrowed evil gazes and equipped with witty repartee using such language on occasion that my mother would never approve of a nine-year-old to study for characterization on prime time TV.  It is still sluttish protrayal, but with a touch of ennui that it looked classy.  Scored with Marcus Allen and got hitched to rival show L.A. Law’s Harry Hamlin for two years.  Dated Michael Bolton afterwards.  You know, I remember one time I was trying to put together a Nancy Drew kind of sixteen-year-old character during freshman year high school and I named her Paige something after an obscure song I heard and liked on NU or RT by one Wendy Paige, who sounded a bit like Joey Lauren Adams on some high notes (VO:  Flashback — Where Are They NOW?).  I showed it to Indiana Uy whose opinion was brutally, usefully honest, and she kinda wrinkled her nose before opining, “For the love of McFlys, change the name. ‘Paige’ really reminds me of Nicolette Sheridan.”  Something like that.  Such is the power Knots Landing by the end of the formative years.

 

Exhibit D

And this is Desperate Nicollette, circa Spy Hard and Beverly Hills Ninja.  By now it’s been proven she’s one of the TV stars who just couldn’t successfully make the transition to film.  She’s still at home with prime time — I loved the episode in which Edie Britt throws Mrs. Huber’s ashes right at Susan Mayer’s face.  She’s now gonna marry some Swedish ac-TOR.  Teri Hatcher will be Alanis Morissette’s Ode To City Of Angels.

Stay tuned for further character developments next season.