Peter Piatkowski
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Articles by Peter Piatkowski
Wynonna Returns with the Best Album of Her Career
Despite over three decades in the solo spotlight, it still feels like Wynonna Judd is the shadow of the Judds, the legendary, hit-making duo with her mother, the late Naomi Judd. With Naomi, Wynonna applied her prodigious talents to tasteful, lovely neo-traditional country songs, but as a solo artist, she had a broader muse.
With Dolly Parton, the Glitz Was Never Separate From the Genius
“She [Dolly Parton] can see into people. She’s deep. It’s like through her songs, she opens her arms wide and embraces such a broad swath of people that don’t always feel seen. – Jane Fonda Jane Fonda and Dolly Parton worked together, alongside Lily Tomlin in the 1980 comedy, 9 to 5. A tart and satirical work about secretaries, the film’s championing of the underdog dovetailed nicely with Parton’s ethos as a performer.
Icona Pop Perform a Fabulous ‘Ritual’ on Their New LP
Having a worldwide hit like “I Love It” gave the Swedish pop group Icona Pop a bona fide classic, but it also casts a large shadow on any follow-up, which included a couple of studio albums and a series of EPs. However, the duo—Aino Jawo and Caroline Hjelt—are canny enough not to try and chase another “I Love It” and instead continue to build on the artistic success of their subsequent releases and make high-quality dance music, including their excellent new album Ritual.
Diane Keaton Was All Loveliness and Light » PopMatters
It wasn’t Annie Hall that made me fall in love with Diane Keaton. By the time I saw the classic romantic comedy, I was already a fan. My love affair with Diane Keaton started with her performance in 1991’s Father of the Bride. In Charles Shyer’s interpretation of the Vincente Minnelli classic, Steve Martin takes on the role originally played by Spencer Tracey as the neurotic father, doubly exasperated by the rising cost of his daughter’s wedding and the prospect of losing his little girl.
Mariah Carey's 'Here for It All' Is a Winning Return " PopMatters
Here For It All Mariah / Gamma Mariah Carey’s new album showcases a veteran who understands what is needed to succeed in the new musical landscape. The last few years have not been especially kind to 1990s divas. Radio was once ruled by one-named divas like Whitney, Celine, Madonna, Shania, and Janet, their releases being heralded with the glitzy pomp and circumstance of a big Hollywood movie.
Alison Krauss' 'Arcadia' Is Dazzling and Worth the Long Wait " PopMatters
Arcadia Down the Road Alison Krauss hasn’t recorded with Union Station in 14 years—since Barack Obama’s first term, as Rolling Stone’s David Browne noted in his article announcing the act’s latest album, Arcadia. During this time, a lot has changed, including the departure of key Union Station member Dan Tyminski, who has been replaced by Russell Moore from IIIrd Tyme Out. Moore shares lead vocal duties with Krauss.
Lady Gaga's Creativity Is Trapped in Retro Sounds Now " PopMatters
Mayhem Streamline / Interscope When Lady Gaga released her single “Born This Way”, it felt like she was one of the leading figures in a sustainable social movement with legs and a firm future. An anthem for the LGBT community, the song spoke to a startlingly swift shift in our culture that saw people embrace gays, lesbians, bisexual people and trans folks.
The Orb's New Compilation Is a Carefully Curated History
Orboretum: The Orb Collection Cooking Vinyl The Orb pioneered an innovative approach to dance music. Their songs are wonderful collages of sounds, finding inspiration in the club but also in nature. It’s hard to imagine the work that goes into writing and producing a song like “Blue Room” – a slinky, groovy banger with percussion that sounds like water drops – and it makes the case for the outfit as mad musical geniuses.
A Tribute to Teri Garr: A Comic Genius
Teri Garr was arguably one of the most beloved comediennes of American cinema. She seemed born in the wrong era, her style of witty, effervescent comedy better suited for the screwball genre of the 1930s, and yet, she flourished in the 1970s and 1980s, bringing an innate likability and charm to her roles. Though some of the characters could be considered ditzy, she never condescended to her roles, instead giving the characters dignity.
Kylie Minogue's Sequel to 'Tension' Is a Worthy Follow-Up
Tension II Darenote / BMG With Tension II, pop diva Kylie Minogue extends her startingly long run of great-to-brilliant studio albums that started with 2018’s country-flecked Golden. Last year’s Tension is arguably one of the singer’s best efforts, and even if its sequel doesn’t match up, it’s still a fabulous collection of high-energy electropop tunes. It fails to reach the emotional highs of its predecessor, but Tension II still offers listeners frothy, catchy tunes.
Alison Moyet Gives Her Greatest Hits a Winning Makeover
There comes a time in any veteran artist’s career when she starts to assess her work and legacy and revisit some of her past. On her latest album, Key, Alison Moyet seems to be just in such a nostalgic mood. As the voice of the New Wave outfit Yazoo, Moyet’s voluptuously soulful voice brought warmth and humanity to the chilly, icy soundscape of the 1980s.
Paul McCartney's Beautiful Tribute to Lovely Linda McCartney
To express his grief for his wife, Shah Jahan commissioned the construction of the Taj Mahal in memory of Mumtaz Mahal. So great was his love for his late wife that he holed himself up for a week after her death and forsook frivolity, flamboyant dress, and music for two years. To this day, the Taj Mahal stands as a majestic monument to one man’s love for his wife.
In Memory of Maggie Smith, the Stealth Comedy Queen
Maggie Smith had the most expressive face. She could say and do more with a roll of an eye or a purse of her lips than most of her peers can with pages of dialogue. She could convey a world of disapproval or disappointment with even the slightest hiss of a sigh. Her face—a graceful and classical beauty—epitomized intelligence, vitality, and elegance.
Katy Perry Stumbles on Her Latest Album '413'
“It’s a woman’s world,” Katy Perry bellows on her new album’s first single. “And you’re lucky to be livin’ in it.” The song “Woman’s World” is Perry’s 36th single as a leading artist. As the title implies, it’s a pop-feminist manifesto, themes she explored more successfully with “Firework” (2010) and “Roar” (2013). It’s a particularly empty and insipid attempt at coopting feminism, its lyrics failing to add anything or say much about the topic.
Liza Minnelli and Pet Shop Boys United on Camp Classic Results
When Liza Minnelli went to the studio to start recording her 1989 album Results with the Pet Shop Boys, she was nonplussed when informed that there’d be no orchestra. When recounting her experience working with Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, Minnelli remembered asking, “When do the musicians get here? And they said, ‘Don’t be mad, there are no musicians.
Vanessa Williams Returns with the Excellent 'Survivor'
Survivor Mellian Music / Mod Squad, LLC. Pop music is all about transitions and reinventions. Pop’s dynamic nature means artists must continuously change and grow to ensure their work remains relevant. So what about artists who step away for several years? How does a veteran artist return after an extended period in which she’s done other work? That’s a question Vanessa Williams must have asked when planning her comeback record, Survivor, her first album in 15 years.
Céline Dion' Is Not a Mournful Drama
I Am: Céline Dion Amazon MGM Studios The pervasive feeling in Irene Taylor’s new film I Am: Céline Dion is sorrow, leavened with defiance. The film is ostensibly about a massively successful pop star who is dealing with a neurological disorder, but it’s also about a woman who has built her identity around her work and celebrity and is now wrestling with a disease that is threatening her sense of self.
Pandora Boxx Offers a Smile and a Laugh With Debut Album
Ru Girl music has become a genre unto itself. The clever phrase refers to the music spun off from RuPaul’s Drag Race. Even contestants who don’t win the competition use the exposure to embark on multi-media careers, which include music. Throughout the show’s 16 seasons, the running joke is that Ru Girl music is disposable and a cash grab. Whenever a Drag Race queenreleases music, she faces scepticism. Some Ru Girls release mindless, tinny dance singles to capitalize on their fame.
Marilyn Monroe Really Knew How to Act
Some Like It Hot United Artists “Where’s that bourbon?” Three words. Reciting a line before a film camera with just three words should have been simple. Marilyn Monroe reportedly needed 80 takes to get those three lines right. The final product is perfection, of course. Monroe staggers into the room, rifles through a chest of drawers, and utters those words, “Where’s that bourbon?” with a desperate anguish in her voice. This scene is one in a series of legendary moments of chaos in Monroe’s career.
Yoko Ono's Controversial Work at Tate Modern
Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind Tate Modern Yoko Ono is a divisive artist whose work is laden with baggage from her celebrity. Her art, talent, and legacy are wrapped in her fame to the point where it becomes difficult to judge whether she’s a pioneering creative or an extremely fortunate dilettante. Considering her recent sold-out show at Tate Modern, Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind, despite Ono’s fractured legend, she has her fans. I’m very familiar with Ono’s contributions to pop music.
How Martha Stewart Saved Me at My Worst
During her omnipresence in the 1990s, Martha Stewart never did it for me. Of course, I knew of her and was very aware of who she was, but I rarely engaged with her celebrity, being somewhat turned off by her caricatured fussiness, whiteness, and wealth. To me, she epitomized a starched, bland Stepford Wives aesthetic that I thought would be stultifying. Without really knowing of her work, I thought she was exceedingly tasteful, to the point of being antiseptic.
Mariah Carey Declared Herself Queen of Christmas with One Song
Merry Christmas Columbia A video on Mariah Carey‘s social channels officially announces the Christmas season. As the camera pans through the cavernous, icy palace, we land at a vault door. A digital clock reads “October 31, 11:59.” As soon as the clock strikes “November 1”, the vault opens to robed Halloween minions diligently working on thawing a large block of ice with hairdryers. We see a figure ensconced in the ice, blurred but clearly in red.
Dolly Parton Does a Great Job Pretending She's a Rock Star
Rockstar Butterfly / Big Machine When announced that she would be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Dolly Parton famously demurred, saying, “I don’t feel that I have earned that right.
Nancy Sinatra's Legacy Is Far More Than Just Boots
Keep Walkin': Singles, Demos & Rarities 1965–1978 Light in the Attic Nancy Sinatra‘s music career has been overwhelmed by her classic hit “These Boots Were Made for Walkin'” – even the title of this compilation, Keep Walkin’, references that song.
'Frasier' Is Back, But Are We Still Listening?
In the late 2010s in America, a revival or reboot of a 1980s or ’90s sitcom seemingly premiered every week. In times of great stress and chaos, people often turn to nostalgia. We looked to television sitcoms as the world was tipping into disaster through political turmoil.
Jorja Smith Charms with 'Falling or Flying'
With her 2018 debut, Lost & Found, Jorja Smith established herself as one of the brightest and most creative young talents in the British contemporary soul scene. Though she waited five years before releasing her sophomore set, Smith didn’t stay quiet, releasing singles, touring, and scoring her first top 10 hit, “Be Honest”. The response to Lost & Found was so warm, and Smith was invited by audiences as a new star that she could be forgiven for taking time before putting out a second studio LP.
Kylie Minogue Scores Another Dance Pop Classic with Tension
Kylie Minogue is legendary. She’s amassed the kind of career that lesser divas can only dream of. She’s a global pop diva with legions of devoted fans. Yet, in America, she remains relatively niche. Kylie has longevity, rivaling that of Madonna, Janet Jackson, and Mariah. Yet, in the United States, her mainstream fame could be roughly reduced to two hits: her 1988 cover of “The Loco-Motion” and the 2001 global smash “Can’t Get You Out of My Head”.
Róisín Murphy Makes a Valiant Attempt at Being a Soul Diva
For about ten years, Róisín Murphy worked with musician Mark Brydon as the electropop duo Moloko, releasing a batch of well-received albums, their career peaking with the hit single “The Time Is Now” that went all the way to number two on the UK pop charts in 2000. After the 2003 record Statues, the duo went their separate ways.
Shamir's 'Homo Anxietatem' Is Candid Confessional Pop
Homo Anxietatem Kill Rock Stars Shamir‘s last studio album was last year’s Heterosexuality, a collection of different genres and styles that sounded like a mixtape. Exploration of different musical tastes and sounds has been something the singer-songwriter has done throughout their career – from the club-centric dance-pop of their debut album Ratchet to the latest work, their ninth, Homo Anxietatem, which embraces some of the indie rock and 1990s alt-rock explored in Heterosexuality.
The Album' Is a Spotty Yet Enjoyable Sugar High Original
Now that Greta Gerwig’s Barbie is an official phenomenon (it’s probably going to coast to a $1 billion worldwide box office total in less than a month since its release), think pieces have pulled the film apart like string cheese, finding feminist themes in the script and attributing its incredible success to a backlash to the backlash we’ve seen in the recent years like the Supreme Court’s recent decisions regarding Roe v. Wade, affirmative action, and anti-LGBTQ discrimination.
Camp, Queerness, and Comedy in 'Elvira'
Editorials June 30th, 2023 | By Peter Piatkowski Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, is a camp character created and embodied by comedienne Cassandra Peterson. An alumna of the legendary improv group the Groundlings, Peterson based Elvira on the Vampira character created by Maila Nurmi. The look is spooky drag: Elvira minces around in a long black dress with a high slit and a plunging neckline. Her hair, inspired by Ronnie Spector, is a tower of jet black.
Celebrating Sylvester's Greatest Hits for Pride 2023
Donna Summer is rightly considered the Queen of Disco, but Sylvester is a contender for the title. Like Summer, Sylvester brought artistry, a church-fueled power, and enthusiasm to dance music, injecting a spiritual passion to the dancefloor. His voice – an otherworldly sonic boom of a voice that climbed to dizzying heights – was a significant force in queer pop culture in the 1970s.
Paula Abdul Found Artistic Growth, Maturity with 'Spellbound' Original
To many younger audiences, Paula Abdul will always be the supportive judge on American Idol. The kind, if kooky, aunt who refused to say anything mean to wannabe popstars, no matter how hopeless their ambitions were. Her stint on the singing competition show was a fascinating second chapter in a career that started with massive expectations and promise. From 1988 to 1992, Paula Abdul was one of the biggest pop stars on the planet.
Janet Jackson Came Into Her Own As an Artist on 'Janet' Original
When Janet Jackson named her fifth album, 1993’s Janet, she was making a bold statement. She was saying that she was Janet, and that’s enough. No last names are needed. When explaining why she chose to use lowercase letters when writing her name, bell hooks said she wanted to emphasize the “substance of books, not who I am”. For Janet Jackson, Janet was just that, a way direct attention to the work, not the famous last name.
Slow Beethoven (Review) Original
Slow Beethoven Round Sound In 2017, the Kronos Quartet recorded an album of music by composer Henryk Górecki. Jeffrey Zeigler played the cello as part of the quartet, lending a deep somber tone to the mournful compositions. I mention Górecki because the work on Zeigler’s new project, Slow Beethoven, has striking similarities to the common aural themes found in the late Polish composer’s pieces.
Carly Simon Became Rom-Com Queen with 'Coming Around Again'
Nora Ephron and Carly Simon were a match made in heaven. Both women were popular artists who looked at their domestic and social foibles and created art from their stories. Ephron, like Simon, was a scion of a wealthy and accomplished family and aimed her razor-sharp wit at the people around her, a 20th-century Jane Austen who created comedy from her world of Washington, DC power players, cocktail parties, infidelity, and failed marriages, and being a middle-aged woman in a youth-obsessed culture.
The 35 Best Janet Jackson Songs Original
When Janet Jackson released her self-titled debut in 1982, she showed some real promise, but it wasn’t until 1986’s Control that she found her musical voice. Paired with the brilliant team of Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Jackson asserted her independence not just from her strict parents and superstar siblings but from her controlling label. She grew as an artist and, with her collaborators, became one of the decade’s most essential and successful pop stars.
Wait Til I Get Over (Album Review) Original
Stepping away from his band, Durand Jones & The Indications, Durand Jones has proven his star power and charisma on his solo debut album, Wait Til I Get Over. The Louisiana native has been making music with his bandmates for over a decade, meeting in the early 2010s in Indiana, paying their dues, and assembling material for their 2016 debut, Durand Jones & The Indications. They followed up with two more studio releases and a live album, their latest being 2021’s Private Space.
Memories of Basia's 'The Sweetest Illusion' 29 Years Later Original
Growing up in Chicago, as a teen music nerd, I would hop on the #22 north-bound Clark Street bus and hop off on Belden Avenue to visit my second home, the Tower Records on Clark Street in the Belden Centre. The Belden Centre was a multi-purpose building, with the Tower taking up its second floor. To get to the record shop, you had to climb concrete stairs outside and walk through a covered walkway into the store.
Higher Than Heaven (Album Review)
After Beyoncé‘s classic Renaissance, the bar has been set very high for records that pay homage to disco and house. For Ellie Goulding, the prospect of following up that album with her own may not have been as daunting, given that throughout her career, she excels at sparkly dance-pop and synth-driven neo-disco. On her latest LP, Higher Than Heaven, Goulding shows that she’s a consistent hitmaker, able to choose the best collaborators to show off her talents.
Angels in Science Fiction
Fatherhood has inspired some of the most poignant songs in pop music. Whether inspired by love, hope, or tragedy, singers have turned to song to explore the relationship between fathers and their children. While many of the songs we readily remember about fathers speak to the longing and regret of fatherhood, the songs on St. Paul & The Broken Bones‘ new album are inspired by impending fatherhood.
The Loud Warning of Ska Concert Film 'Dance Craze' Must Still Be Heard Original
Joe Massot’s film Dance Craze is more than a concert film. It’s also about art, culture, and time and place. It captures performances from many musicians, including the Specials, Madness, the Bodysnatchers, and the Selector.
Liza Minnelli Hung Up Her Feather Boa & Sequins for 'Gently'
Liza Minnelli is one of those entertainers whose magic is fully realized on a concert stage. Though she’s had success in film and on vinyl, neither of them captures her particularly strange and distinct charm and charisma. And so, Minnelli’s greatest triumphs will be her stage work. A performer since she was a young child, Minnelli has had decades of honing her craft, having toured extensively in her career, seemingly always on a stage somewhere.
Céline Dion's 'Falling Into You' Is a Triumph of High Camp Pop Art
If one were to look for a pop manifesto of the 1990s, one wouldn’t have to look further than Falling Into You. Today, 27 years after its March 1996 release, Falling Into You sounds like a time capsule of mainstream 1990s pop, or more accurately, 1990s mainstream diva-pop. More so than any other performer of the decade, Céline Dion became the epitome of diva-pop.
Music Reviews | PopMatters
Music/Music Reviews/PopMatters Picks/Reviews Deafheaven Put Aside Metal and Embrace Melody on ‘Infinite Granite’ Deafheaven’s Infinite Granite is a very successful shoegaze-inspired alt-rock record with a great sense of dynamics and some really catchy songs. Music/Music Reviews/Reviews Eluvium’s ‘Virga II’ Is a Droning Calm for Anxious Times Matthew Robert Cooper’s latest instrumental excursion under the Eluvium moniker, Virga II emits an alien warmth that is both haunting and calming.
Film Feature | PopMatters
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Culture/Featured: Top of Home Page/Features/Film/Film Feature/Politics/PopMatters Picks Robert Altman’s ‘Nashville’ Is a Many-Headed Musical-Political Animal Robert Altman’s Nashville is sour and sympathetic, accurate and exaggerated, messy and beady-eyed, a sprawling canvas reminiscent of Bosch or Breugel. Featured: Top of Home Page/Features/Film/Film Feature/Interviews Cinema Is Not “Content” Says ‘Monuments’ Director Jack C.
By Michael Barrett, Paul Risker Verified, Ana Yorke Verified, Chris Wheatley Verified, Peter Piatkowski
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PopMatters
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ODDfellows (Album Review)
ODDfellows Information Society Hakatak International Records 6 August 2021 Information Society are a pioneering dance band, and in their 40-year career, the group have created some fantastic, forward-thinking music. For the group’s eighth release, they continued innovating by putting out the first LP in THX Spatial Audio. On ODDFellows, the richly textured music has an almost cinematic feeling, surrounding the listener with essentially a globe of sound.
Dolly Parton's 'All I Can Do' Pointed to Pop Crossover Success 45 Years Ago
In Dolly Parton lore, “I Will Always Love You” was a bittersweet message to ease the pain of separation. After all, she was the genius singer-songwriter who found success with the support and tutelage of Porter Wagoner, chafed underneath his overbearing Svengali control across her career.
50 years Ago Barbra Streisand Became a Contemporary Pop Singer with 'Barbra Joan Streisand'
When Barbra Streisand recorded the material for her 13th studio album, 1971’s Barbra Joan Streisand, she was 29-years-old. Although she was a contemporary of rock icons like Bob Dylan, John Lennon, and Paul McCartney, she seemed more akin to a refugee from a bygone era. Though she was in her late 20s, she sounded more like her musical elders (Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald, or Frank Sinatra).
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