Succeeding where Cop Rock failed, Glee has managed to turn musical theater into required viewing for many music fans. Their collection of Rocky Horror Picture Show tunes hits the market today, a full week before the program airs.
While musical numbers are a fine fit for the show, and Rocky Horror a perfect Halloween subject, we couldn't help but wonder what else would be a good fit for the Fox program. As they've tackled Britney, Gaga, and Madonna, what else could there possibly be?
While it's already been announced, some folks (like Ralph Garman on a recent Hollywood Babble-On podcast) have poo-poo'd the idea of Glee tackling Bruce Springsteen. "The music of Springsteen -- the music of the working class of New Jersey -- may be a little beyond their ilk," Garman said. We're going to have to disagree: Springsteen has always been a little closer to the Great White Way than to anything else. His performances have a very theatrical element to them, and something like "Born to Run" is epic enough be the centerpiece to any episode.
This is a total left field choice, we realize, but the near-operatic delivery of Glenn Danzig would make a Halloween episode set to the Misfits something to behold.
Tell us that a slowed down, duet version of "Hybrid Moments" wouldn't make for some highlight moments. It gives us shivers just thinking about the sustained notes on the "Ooh baby, when you cry" and titular lines. Creepy, yes...but fitting, too. And think of the costumes: who doesn't want to see cheerleader Brittany rocking a devilock?
Glee tends to focus on pop or classic rock, and many of the choices are fairly white bread. It'd be super-fantastic to see something with some deep-down soul. The "Funk" episode in the first season featured very little actual funk, and one would hope that the show has the sense to dip into some serious jams. A Valentine's Day episode with some slow jams would add some much-needed sizzle to the show. Might we suggest the sextastic "Turn Off the Lights" by Mr. Teddy Pendergrass?
The show, with its kitsch appeal, already manages to be big with the hoi polloi and hipsters alike, but we'd like to see the show make a play for the hipster cognoscenti. As Glee occasionally touches on current news subjects (gay bashing in "Duets," for example), it'd be interesting to see so over-the-top histrionics about politics set to LCD Soundsystem's "North American Scum." Gang vocals and impressive falsettos make this a no-brainer.
The show is noted for taking various previously done cover versions and using them as a template for what's done on Glee. Case in point -- the first single from the program was Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'," and it bears a strong resemblance to the arrangement done by Petra Haden on the Guilt By Association compilation.
So, being as how Glee likes to lift, how about we see a version of Otis Redding's "Try A Little Tenderness" set to the choreography performed so ably by Jon Cryer as Duckie in Pretty In Pink? It'd bring the damned house down.