Bette Challenge - Day 26

Day 26 - Favorite Bette Midler interview

I can't find more than one really poor quality clip of this on YouTube, but Bette was on Oprah in January of 2008 with her daughter Sophie, and this is my favorite interview just because it is the first time Sophie was ever on TV. I LOVE SOPHIE. The only thing I love more than Bette is seeing Sophie and Bette together. They are the cutest mother-daughter duo of all time, and this Oprah episode was just so full of adorable that I had to choose it as my favorite! I mean, just look at them!

Bette Challenge - Day 25

Day 25 - Favorite Bette Midler movie character

Cecilia Carol Bloom, Beaches. This role was written for Bette, and it shows. The character is so much like her stage persona that it's ridiculous. CC is brash and selfish, but she's also immensely talented and driven. I love that character, and Bette played her so well.

Bette Challenge - Day 24

I'm skipping today's challenge (Favorite Bette Midler tumblr) because I don't know of any since I'm not on tumblr. Plus I'm a little "meh" today, so I'm just gonna go back to listening to the Divine Madness soundtrack now. Bye bye then.

Bette Challenge - Day 23

Day 23 - Favorite performance

Gee, this challenge could be interpreted in a couple different ways. Favorite live vocal performance, favorite acting performance? I don't know!!! I know later I have to choose a favorite movie character, which I already have picked out, but I'm not sure what to do with this one. I guess I can choose one of each.

My favorite live Bette performance, since I haven't physically seen her live, would have to be any of the Delores DeLago bits that she does in her shows. I love Delores! She's my favorite of Bette's characters. I don't know if it's the campy reworkings of classic songs, the wheelchair choreography, or the mermaid costumes, but everything Delores does is phenomenal. Delores for President!

Favorite acting performance without a doubt is in The Rose. She was raw and vulnerable, and also completely unexperienced as an actress at the time. No one could have done with that part what she did, and her vocals from that movie are just astounding and so different from the idea of Bette that everyone has. (Rocker chick versus easy listening queen, what she's known as nowadays.)

Bette Challenge - Days 21 & 22

Day 21 - First Bette Midler item you ever got

The first actual Bette item I ever got was a cassette copy of Experience the Divine, her greatest hits. I bought it myself. Most of my Bette stuff I bought myself. My family is not terribly supportive of my obsession with Bette.

Day 22 - Favorite tour

I can't really pick a favorite tour since I haven't seen any of them :( , but by name alone I think my favorite one is De Tour. I really wish I could have seen her Vegas show The Showgirl Must Go On though.

Bette Challenge - Day 20

Day 20 - A Bette Midler-related dream you've had

I've had a lot of Bette-related dreams in my time. I remember one where I saw her driving around town. What town, I'm not sure exactly, but it was whatever small place I was living in in my dream. Anyway, I saw her get in her car and tried to flag her down because I wanted to meet her, but she didn't see me. So I went to get my sister and said, "Bette is here! We have to go find her!" We followed her trail and ended up at this enormous house. We didn't knock or anything, just went in. But the inside of the house was like a post office, so we kept walking around trying to find the house part of it hoping to find Bette. I don't think we found her in this particular dream, but I had similar ones that followed, all with the same post office/house in the dream. That always struck me as odd. Anyway, there's one of my dreams that I remembered.

I remember another one that really just looked like a TV commercial for a new album. It was a double album of all covers, but she did pretty well known songs, including "You're Still the One" by Shania Twain. As familiar as I am with the nuances of her voice, I was able to recreate her voice in my dream and actually dreamed her singing that entire song. I even visualized Shania Twain's video for that song with Bette in her place. It was so strange.

Bette Challenge - Days 18 & 19

Day 18 – Favorite album or single artwork



Some People's Lives, 1990. The profile, the hair, 'nuff said.

Day 19 – Favorite Bette Midler magazine cover



People Weekly, 1975. I love this cover because she just looks so happy.

Bette Challenge - Days 16 & 17

Day 16 – Favorite physical feature of Bette Midler’s

My favorite feature of Bette's is likely the same one that causes so many other people to find her unattractive - her nose. Much like Barbra Streisand, Bette's nose gives her face character, and also creates a very striking profile.

Day 17 – Least favorite Bette Midler song

I'd say this is a toss-up between "Let Me Just Follow Behind" and "Tragedy" from my least favorite album, Songs For the New Depression. Bette's vocal performance is fine, they're just terribly weak songs. Beneath her talent.

Bette Challenge - Day 15

Day 15 – Favorite Bette Midler-related website

Bootleg Betty!!!! The only Bette website that truly matters. Up-to-date news, archival photos and articles, humor, free streaming music and video, and links to everything else that you might need (if you can't find it on this site, that is). I visit it daily.

Bette Challenge - Day 14

Day 14 – A song that forces you to dance

This is really between three songs, but I will choose the one that, as far as I know, has only been recorded by Bette. This a dance track from her 2000 album Bette, called "Bless You Child". It's a simple song, with an "I'm so glad you're you" message. Incredibly catchy.

Bette Challenge - Days 10, 11, 12 & 13

Sorry for the delay in posting again. My birthday was Saturday and I had three days off from work, so my plate was a little full. Catch-up time again today.

Day 10 – A Bette Midler-related video

Pretty much the greatest moment in television history, as far as I'm concerned.



Day 11 – A Bette Midler-related photo you took



Day 12 – Your favorite music video

The reason why this is my favorite video occurs at about the 3:03 mark.
http://www.spike.com/video/bette-midler-to/2789082

Day 13 – A song that makes you cry

I could name multiple Bette songs that make me cry, but one that many people probably don't know is the Randy Newman-penned "I Think It's Going to Rain Today". The song is moving enough on its own, but what really brings the tears is when I hear this song during Beaches. It comes at a pivotal point in the movie, when Hillary finds out that the disease she has (viral cardiomyopathy) is fatal. I blubber every time.

Bette Challenge - Day 9

Day 09 – Your favorite era

Picture it: Los Angeles, mid 1980s. Coming off of Bette's success in The Rose and the accompanying Academy Award nomination, the pressure was high. There was a small slump with the release of the complete and utter flop Jinxed. Then, Michael Eisner said, "Hey, this lady's been used all wrong. She needs to be in comedy. Let's make it happen." So Disney/Touchstone signed her to a three movie deal, and the Divine One was able to reinvent herself and create a new era in her career.

The mid-to-late 80s is my favorite era because:

1) Bette was able to display her spectacular comedic flair and co-star in three hilariously brilliant movies, Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Ruthless People, and Outrageous Fortune.
2) She ended the decade with Beaches, one of my top five favorite movies of all time, and Stella, which was a commercial and critical flop but a movie that I absolutely adore.
3) the soundtrack to Beaches
4) THIS HAIR

Bette Challenge - Day 8

Day 08 – A photo that makes you go UNF



That figure! Rawr!

I am all alone, there is no one here beside me.

I'm a little disappointed today, for a lot of reasons. One of those reasons is because my birthday extravaganza that I had planned for the upcoming weekend isn't going to be as spectacular as I hoped. Secondly, I was going to go through my Bette files on my external hard drive to find a picture for today's challenge. Going through my stuff, I realized that I had deleted all of the pictures I once had. I've cleaned off my computer because I expect it to fail at any moment, and I don't want to lose any files, so I transfered my things to an external hard drive, but decided to delete my celebrity pictures that I had saved because I've "outgrown" that sort of thing. So the pictures I had of Bette, Stevie, Judy Garland, Rosemary Clooney, Agnes Moorehead...all gone. All that was left were the two pictures I have of Bette and Stevie together, and a few collages I had made to use as wallpapers. I understand that I didn't transfer them because they're not "important" and they're not personal documents or pictures or things, but why did I think I wouldn't want them at all anymore? I am terribly sad now.

I'm having a hard time finding good Bette pictures, because no website has a definitive archive. Google searches often bring up "Bette" pictures that aren't of Bette at all, and I don't know what picture I want to use for the one that makes me go UNF. I really want it to be striking, so that other people can see why see makes me go UNF.

Sigh. I'm just a little depressed today. Don't mind me.

Bette Challenge - Day 7

Day 07 – A photo that makes you laugh

Bette Challenge - Days 4, 5 & 6

Saturday's entry slipped my mind, and I wasn't near a computer yesterday, so we're going to hit three in one today!

Day 04 – Favorite Bette Midler movie

The First Wives Club! Beaches is a very close second, but The First Wives Club was my movie back in high school. I saw this movie about 50 times before I ever even owned a copy of it. I had every word memorized, and I still know a lot of it now. Not only is it hysterically funny, it has a great cast and great music. Bette, Diane, and Goldie singing "You Don't Own Me" while reminiscing about their old friend Cynthia is one of my very favorite parts of the movie. Bette is adorable as the "fat friend", a role she always plays with relish. I seriously cannot think of one bad thing about this movie. I will always love it, no matter how cheesy it is or how dated it may be in the future. This movie is a symbol of my youth and my love of Bette. Love it!

Day 05 – A photo of Bette Midler in the year that you were born

Bette with her husband Martin at LiveAid in 1985

Day 06 – Least favorite Bette Midler album

Songs For the New Depression, 1976. After a phenomenal debut album and a sophomore effort that was also fairly well-received, Bette felt incredibly pressured to make her third album up to everyone's standards. The result was, quite frankly, a disaster. "Mr. Rockefeller" is the only song that has held up well over the years, and the Bob Dylan duet "Buckets of Rain" is a take-it-or-leave-it kind of song. "Marahuana" is campily delightful, but the rest of the album sounds the same: somber and way too toned-down. Up to this point, Bette's sultry songstress had been thriving but she just tried to hard to do something different with Depression. While the album does have its moments, it's definitely not a great work, and would not be recommended by any Bette fan to a non-fan.

Bette Challenge - Day 3

Day 03 – Favorite quote

Being as Bette is filled with wonderful jokes as well as wonderful nuggets of wisdom, this is difficult. My old standby, of course, is "Fuck 'em if they can't take a joke!" But I think my favorite Bette-related quote has to be the motto of her All Girl Productions (which no longer exists). The motto was this: "We hold a grudge." I like it because it is very befitting of my own philosophies. I wish I could remember more quotes from interviews instead of just these small little snippets, but these shorter quotes are easier to remember, in addition to being pasted all over the internet to serve as a quick reminder. My mind may not be totally full of Bette to the point that I remember every word she ever uttered, but my heart definitely makes up for what my memory lacks.

Bette Challenge - Day 2

Day 02 – Favorite album, and favorite song off that album

This is likely to be the most difficult day for me, considering how vastly different each of Bette's albums are. Her live stuff is always fantastic just because it gives you a taste of what a great all-around performer she is. Her debut The Divine Miss M is really unique and almost has the sound of something that was independently produced. I love the ...Rosemary Clooney Songbook because that album combines two of my favorite things (Bette and Rosemary, natch). But I guess I would have to say my favorite is Bathhouse Betty. It was the first new album she released after I became a fan, so it holds that sentimental significance for me. Also, she did a live performance of one of the songs off that album on The Rosie O'Donnell Show and the whole portion of the show that she did that day was so much fun! I love the dress and wig she wore on the cover of that album, but really it's just a great album. The songs vary from moving to zany; there's absolutely no way to put a label on it, and that's why I love that album!

Favorite song on Bathhouse Betty has to be "Lullaby in Blue". A song from the point of view of a mother who gave a child up for adoption, this never fails to bring me to tears. It's arguably one of Bette's best vocal performances on record. There are a few that deserve honorable mention as well, but I'd end up naming over half the songs, so we'll just leave it at that.

Bette Challenge - Day 1

Day 01 – When and how were you first introduced to Bette Midler?

I don't remember. God's honest truth.

I can't remember a time in my life without Bette. As crazy as it may sound, life began with her. I remember being vaguely familiar with her at the age of eight or nine. For a time, I thought she sang the song "Let's Hear It For the Boy" from Footloose because I had never heard her sing and knew she had been in a movie called For The Boys. Putting those things together just sort of made sense to me at the time. I remember seeing previews on TV for The First Wives Club and wanting desperately to see it, but I wasn't allowed to go to the theater to see it for some reason. (I was 11 and the movie is only PG. Maybe it was the warning of "mild language.") At this point I began researching her on the internet every time I got the chance. I became obsessed - with her career, her life, her humor, her spirit, her music, her laugh. All of her.

So, I guess, definitively, the answer is because of The First Wives Club (which I have probably seen at least 75 times) but the seed was planted long before that.

30 Day Madonna Bette Midler Challenge

An FB friend of mine had posted this 30 Day Madonna Challenge on her tumblr. I have decided to steal this and apply it to my own personal Madonna, Bette Midler. Should be fun. Here's the rundown:

Day 01 – When and how were you first introduced to Madonna Bette Midler?
Day 02 – Favorite album, and favorite song off that album
Day 03 – Favorite quote
Day 04 – Favorite Madonna Bette Midler movie
Day 05 – A photo of Madonna Bette Midler in the year that you were born
Day 06 – Least favorite Madonna Bette Midler album
Day 07 – A photo that makes you laugh
Day 08 – A photo that makes you go UNF
Day 09 – Your favorite era
Day 10 – A Madonna Bette Midler-related video
Day 11 – A Madonna Bette Midler-related photo you took
Day 12 – Your favorite music video
Day 13 – A song that makes you cry
Day 14 – A song that forces you to dance
Day 15 – Favorite Madonna Bette Midler-related website
Day 16 – Favorite physical feature of Madonna Bette Midler’s
Day 17 – Least favorite Madonna Bette Midler song
Day 18 – Favorite album or single artwork
Day 19 – Favorite Madonna Bette Midler magazine cover
Day 20 – A Madonna Bette Midler-related dream you’ve had
Day 21 – First Madonna Bette Midler item you ever got
Day 22 – Favorite tour
Day 23 – Favorite performance
Day 24 – Favorite Madonna Bette Midler tumblr
Day 25 – Favorite Madonna Bette Midler movie character
Day 26 – Favorite Madonna Bette Midler interview
Day 27 – Your favorite outfit/fashion statement
Day 28 – Favorite Madonna Bette Midler photo
Day 29 – How has Madonna Bette Midler inspired you?
Day 30 – Whatever tickles your fancy

The real "challenge" in all of this will be remembering to actually post every day for a month.