GLEE Redux - The Purple Piano Project

Honestly, I missed the Season 3 Premiere as I was at a high school soccer match, but just finished watching it, and thought I'd continue to do my coverage of the show, in my own special way. I use the original artists when possible of the songs from the show, but in relationship to the GLEE storyline. Hope you enjoy.

The show opens with intrepid reporter/blogger Jacob Ben Israel vlogging with a vengeance, hitting the kids one by one to establish who are seniors and who are not, and that while Sam and Mercedes dated, he is gone now. It has Finn questioning himself and his future, until a rainbow slushie-facial brings him back to life as a gleek.

We also see Mr. Shuester waking up with Miss Pillsbury, and the inherent sexual tension/frustration in that relationship. Sue is running for political office, and looking for a sure-fire policy to garner votes. Lauren Zizes has dropped Puck and Glee club, cause both were hurting her 'cool factor.' Kurt tries to convince Blaine to join him at McKinley High, cause he misses his boy-toy. Quinn is MIA, only to be found with pink hair, a nose ring and a cigarette firmly in hand, a member of the Skanks. Quinn rebuffs attempts by Santana, Brittany and Rachel to return to Glee.

Mr. Shue gets a donation of some pianos, which he promptly paints purple and plans to place around the school to get the kids singing, and drumming up auditions for the three spots left vacant by Zizes, Quinn, and Sam. Sue is not impressed, and attacks a piano played by Mike & Tina, and insults the kids as well. This inspires her in her political life, and she takes a stand to eliminate all Arts programs in public schools. Mr. Shue is infuriated by Sue's stance. He plans to fight her, and she wants none of it, if it should interfere with her campaign.

The kids are afraid to play the piano in the lunch room, until Finn and Rachel talk them into getting up to sing The Go-Gos' We Got The Beat.



After the joyous performance, a food fight kicks off, and spaghetti flies. The kids are dejected, realizing that failure at the national championships last year has weakened their fragile positions at the school. While they are cleaning up the mess, Sugar Motta, whose daddy donated the pianos, comes in to audition for Glee, saying she was inspired because she was so much better than the kids. She sings Hey Big Spender from the music Sweet Charity.



Not surprisingly, she is terrible. Shue wants to honor the policy that all who apply are in Glee, but the kids want none of it. They have winning on their mins, and she won't make that happen. Shue has lunch with the amazing Coach Beiste, who offers to rough up Sue for him. Shue realizes he has to fight this one himself. "If Sue wants to declare war on the Arts, then General Shuester is about to launch a counter-offensive." Miss Pillsbury is turned on!

Rachel and Kurt, with plans to move to New York and pursue careers in musical theater, get together to prepare for a 'mixer' for a respected Musical Theater school that is nearby. They sing a nice jazz version of Ding-Dong, The Witch Is Dead from The Wizard of Oz.



Cheerio Co-captains Santana and Becky assist Sue at auditions for the cheering squad. Shue and Miss Pillbury show up, and he Glitterbombs Sue while Emma videos it before they take off. Blaine stops by to see Kurt, and soon announces he is transferring to McKinley to be with the man he loves. He sings a very special and sexy version of It's Not Unusual by Tom Jones.



While Santana and cheerleaders dance with Blaine, they are spraying lighter fluid on the piano. As the song ends, Quinn tosses a cigarette on the piano, and it bursts into flames. Kurt and Rachel go to the NYADA mixer, and discover a room full of, well, themselves. Divas and Gay boys explode on them, and are soon performing a number, Anything Goes from the Cole Porter musical, complete with dancing.



The duo are devastated, and are crying in the car in the parking lot. Finally, Kurt shakes himself off and brings Rachel out of her misery. She smiles, and makes him smile too. They will help one another get into NYADA.

Shue is dreading telling Sugar Motta she wasn't a good singer, and can't be in Glee. Miss Pillbury offers her thoughts, including how his strength is making her hot! He tells Sugar, and Sue catches up with him, to say the video of the glitter-bombing added 7 points to her campaign. He goes to Glee, and Blaine joins the group. Finn is upset, cause he thinks Blaine set the piano on fire, but Santana points out it was her and the Cheerios who did that. Shue says it is true, and kicks her out of Glee, and tells her not to come back until she can be loyal to the group. She leaves. Mr. Shue tells the kids he needs their loyalty for them to win Nationals. Rachel announces they will mount a production of West Side Story, and Kurt is running for class president. And like the pianos, who are beaten and worn, the kids might be bruised, but they can still make beautiful music. Rachel gets up to sing You Can't Stop The Beat from Hairspray!: The Musical and is soon joined by all the kids.



Till next week...

Worth Another Listen - The Specials

Formed in Coventry, England, in 1977, The Specials were a band like few others. Born out of the post-punk, pre-New Wave era of music, they joined the ska beats with the drive of punk to make a dance music that swept the world. Formed by songwriter/keyboardist Jerry Dammers, vocalist Terry Hall and guitarist Lynval Golding, the put together a big rhythm section and The Specials were born. Part of my unnatural fascination with all things Terry Hall, I was crazy about this music back in the day. And 33 years later, they appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on April 13th of this year. The song they performed in a private show was Little Bitch from their self-titled first album, released in 1979. This is the performance on the Jools Holland show.



But back in 1979, the band was working on their first album, and it also included that amazing song A Message To You, Rudy. Originally written by Dandy Livingstone in 1967, it scored #10 on the UK pop chart. Singing background vocals was an amazing singing, Chrissie Hynde.



Then in 1980, the band released the single Rat Race. The song, included in import versions of the sophomore effort, More Specials, but not the UK version, climbed to #5 on the UK charts and made the Top 100 of US Dance music.



The first cut off the second album was the 1949 song Enjoy Yourself, best known when performed by Guy Lombardi and the Royal Canadians. On the album version, the background vocals were offered up by the ladies of The Go-Gos. Belinda Carlisle, Jane Wiedlin and Charlotte Caffey could be heard on the album, but here in this live version, it is the boys in the band.



In 1981, they released Ghost Town, another single that wasn't on a album at first. That, however, did not stop it from heading all the way to #1 on the UK Pop chart, and securing more fame for the band.



Not long following this success, Terry Hall, Neville Staple and Lynval Golding broke away from the band to start their own group, Fun Boy Three. In this group, Terry had much more control, both musically and artistically, giving him much more room to experiment. Jerry Dammers continued on, sometimes using the moniker The Specials, other times using Specials AKA, until 1984, when he dissolved the band to move into political activism. The band reunited in 2007 for a 30th anniversary celebration, and have been together since, touring and working on some new music. For more about The Specials, check out their website here.