Bibliographic Information: Paltrow, Gwyneth. Glee. Volume 4 [sound recording] : the music. New York : Columbia, 2010. 1 sound disc : digital ; 4 3/4 in. Compact disc. UPC 886977921421.
Genre: Popular music
Age Level: 13+
Curriculum ties: Television music, Rock music, Popular music
Performer(s): Glee cast ; with acc
Producer: Ryan Murphy
Note: Glee (Television program). Season 2. Selections.
Reader’s Annotation: Your favorite Glee songs from Season 2 performed by the Glee cast.
Contents: Empire state of mind (4:38) (Sung by: Artie, Puck, Finn, Mercedes, Santana) — Billionaire (3:32) (Sung by: Finn, Artie, Puck, Sam) — Me against the music (3:45) (Sung by: Brittany, Santana) — Stronger (3:23) (Sung by: Finn, Artie, Puck) — Toxic (3:24) (Sung by: Will, Rachel, Brittany) — The only exception (4:26) (Sung by: Rachel) — I want to hold your hand (2:36) (Sung by: Kurt) — One of us (4:01) (Sung by: Tina, Finn, Kurt, Rachel, Mercedes, Quinn) — River deep, mountain high (3:32) (Sung by: Mercedes, Santana) — Lucky (3:07) (Sung by: Sam, Quinn) — One love (People get ready) (2:34) (Sung by: Artie, Puck) — Teenage dream (3:40) (Sung by: Blaine) — Forget you (feat. Gwyneth Paltrow) (3:42) (Sung by: Holly, Mercedes, Artie) — Marry you (3:46) (Sung by: Finn, Rachel, Sam, Quinn, Brittany, Artie, Tina, Mike) — Sway (3:09) (Sung by: Will) — Just the way you are (3:37) (Sung by: Finn) — Valerie (3:35) (Sung by: Santana) — (I’ve had) the time of my life (4:37) (Sung by: Quinn, Sam).
Critical Evaluation: This CD highlights most of my favorite songs that have been featured on Season 2 of the television show Glee. Although omitting a few of the more popular renditions (“Umbrella/Singing in the Rain” and “Don’t Cry for me Argentina”) it does includes Gwyneth Paltrow’s rendition of Cee Lo’s hit “Forget You” and Blake’s rendition of Katie Perry’s “Teenage Dream”. It also offers a diverse mix of songs from ballads group numbers. I could have done without Mr. Schuster’s rendition of “Sway” but overall, it was entertaining.
Booktalking Ideas: N/A
Challenge Issues/ Defense: N/A
Why was this item included?: It is a popular music item that reflects the pop culture interests of today’s teens.
Producer Information: Ryan Murphy-Born in Indianapolis, Ryan Murphy began his career as a journalist, writing for publications such as The Miami Herald, Los Angeles Times, New York Daily News and Entertainment Weekly.
He began writing for film in the late 1990s, co-authoring a short called The Furies (1999). At about the same time, Steven Spielberg purchased his romantic comedy Why Can’t I Be Audrey Hepburn?, although the script wound up sitting on a shelf for awhile.
His first claim to fame was as a creator/producer of the offbeat WB teen comedy/drama series Popular. His next screenplay, a comedy titled St. Sass (2002), was produced as TV movie on the WB network, starring Delta Burke and Gregory Harrison. Murphy made his directorial debut with the short Need (2005), which he also wrote.
But his greatest success to date came as the creator/producer/director of FX’s original drama series Nip/Tuck. The series was an immediate hit, winning a 2005 Golden Globe, while Murphy received a 2004 Emmy in the Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series category for the pilot episode.
Murphy made his feature film debut as director/producer/writer of Sony Pictures’ Running With Scissors (2006), starring Annette Bening, Alec Baldwin and Gwyneth Paltrow. He’s currently dusting off his screenplay, Why Can’t I Be Audrey Hepburn?, which he’ll direct for DreamWorks.
(Producer biography obtained from tribute.ca. Retrieved from: http://www.tribute.ca/people/ryan-murphy/16123/).
Clownfish619's Blog 