This Weekend I’ll Mostly Be Listening to… Music from ‘Grease’ August 23, 2014
Posted by irishelectionliterature in This Weekend I'll Mostly Be Listening to....trackback
A few weekends ago there was an Outdoor Cinema put on by Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council in Marlay Park. I was given a choice …….. “Dirty Dancing” on the Saturday night or “Grease” on the Sunday night. I opted for “Grease”.
I came home from The Limerick Kilkenny match in Croke Park, dried out a bit and off the family plus German exchange student went. The ground was sodden in places but armed with rain gear a groundsheet , an umbrella and some shopping bags , a flask and picnic we found a spot. I was surprised at the amount of equipment some people had brought along, fold up chairs, tents, tents open on one side, big thick plastic sheets to make bivouacs and lots more besides. The best one I saw was a crowd who on arrival each got into a big black bin bag, sat on the ground and then covered themselves in a tarpaulin.
I’d seen ‘Grease’ performed as a school musical before but as the movie came on I realised that I’d never seen the movie before. I would have been too young at the time and my older sister would have seen it in the Cinema or in the school hall where they showed year old films on Friday afternoons. I saw some great films in the school hall over the years …. and “Abba The Movie” !!
The music in ‘Grease’ was good and Travolta could really move. “Summer NIghts” and “You’re the one that I want” (which as 8 and 9 year olds myself and my brother though went ‘you’re the wibbleawong’ ) which was number 1 in the charts for an eternity. It was also one of the first videos on Top of The Pops.
I hadn’t realised either that Stockard Channing was in the movie.
The Cedar Lounge Revolution 
Hah, given the choice of Grease or Dirty Dancing it would have to be Grease every time for me… at pretty much any cost too! 🙂
LikeLike
Whenever I hear ‘You’re the One That I Want’, I sing the bass line along to it rather than the words. Great bass line.
LikeLike
I greatly admire Greased Lightning for its roots in the 12 tone system myself. And the silent bit after the credits end is obviously influenced by Cage’s 4 minutes 33 seconds.
LikeLike
It’s funny, given that the majority of songs in Dirty Dancing are much better than those in Grease, but I’d take the latter over the former any day as well. Might be nostalgia. Jennifer Grey, the female lead in Dirty Dancing, is the daughter of Joel Grey, the MC in Cabaret. I will endeavour to at any costs inject an element of Broadway trivia into this site.
LikeLike
Travolta was at the height of his fame then, just after ‘Saturday Night Fever’ – which a lot of people actually mix up with Grease- though it wasn’t a musical and it was a lot darker than Grease!
LikeLike
It’s not a bad film, Saturday Night Fever, and Travolta was always a better actor than he was sometimes given credit for.
LikeLike
There’s a sanitized version of Saturday Night Fever that really tones down the social commentary aspect and highlights the dancing. The full version is an excellent film.
I love Grease too.
LikeLike
Interesting story about how the idea was based on Mods in the London in the 1960s as well. I think its in Jefferson Cowie’s ‘Staying Alive.’
LikeLike
Between Grease and Dirty Dancing I vote for Urban Cowboy.
LikeLike