One of my favorite songs from “American Idiot.” I love the way this starts out as straight-ahead punk, then slows down to harmony-laden Beach Boys inspired pop. The opening lyrics are terrific: “St. Jimmy’s comin’ down across the alleyway … Upon the
boulevard like a zip gun on parade … Light of a silhouette … He’s insubordinate …
Comin’ at you on the count of 1,2-(1,2,3,4!)” and then a hardcore breakdown that will nail your d–k to a tree.
While Paul Bartel’s “Eating Raoul” was distributed by the “classics” division of a major studio (in this case, 20th Century Fox) back in 1982, it’s still one of the best “indie” films of that decade (when “indie” actually meant something). It’s also one of the funniest. The premise is genius. A financially struggling couple, Paul and Mary Bland (played by Bartel and Andy Warhol/Roger Corman regular Mary Woronov), can’t seem to break out of their dead-end jobs to achieve their dream of opening a restaurant. Since their apartment building is overrun with rich perverts and swingers, they come up with the genius notion of luring these lovely folks to their apartment with an ad in a swingers newspaper, killing them, and then stealing their money. Trouble ensues when they bring in locksmith/burglar Raoul as a business partner who helps them dispose of the bodies. Despite “Raoul”‘s grim, blacker-than-black subject matter, the movie is actually very sweet (though it feels odd to say that, given the perverse subject matter). A great example of how you can handle otherwise offensive subject matter in a funny, relatively non-offensive way. However, it still more than earns its R-rating, so probably not the best film to show your parents or people you don’t know that well. The Criterion Collection just released a lovely Blu-Ray version of “Raoul” with all the extras you would expect from them. Dave says check it out.
Here is the earliest known recorded version of Tim Buckley’s enduring and classic ballad. It’s quite different than the version that was eventually recorded for Buckley’s 1970’s “Starsailor” album. The version here (performed for “The Monkees” TV show in 1968) is more of a straight-ahead ballad, instead of the bizarre and heartbreaking version that appears on “Starsailor” that sounds like it was recorded by someone really ready to cast themselves on the rocks in despair. A great and underrated song that keeps gaining more resonance as the years continue. In just the last few years, Robert Plant, Bryan Ferry, and Sinead O’Connor have all done covers. The most famous cover, by This Mortal Coil, has already been posted on Dave’s Strange World.
Do you remember participating in gross-out contests when you were younger? For example, someone would hock up a loogie full of spit and throat mucus and say “Top that.” The winner would then pull out a straw. (Joke borrowed from “The Adventures of Ford Fairlane”). Poop-eating, self-mutilating GG Alllin was the ultimate example of this phenomenon in the rock and roll world. GG took the nihilistic on-stage antics of Iggy Pop and took them to even farther extremes. Aside from eating his own human waste, throwing it at the audience, or smearing it on his body, he would also physically assault his audience … randomly beating the snot out of people, cutting himself up, dragging women onstage by the hair … you get the picture, right?
Anyway, towards the end of his life in 1993, GG started getting more and more mainstream exposure. He was discussed on both Howard Stern’s and Rush Limbaugh’s radio shows. He was the subject of a really good documentary by then-NYU film student Todd Phillips called “Hated” (Phillips later became a multi-millionaire Hollywood mogul when he directed “Road Trip,” “Old School,” and the blockbuster “Hangover” series.) Also, GG made appearances on many talk shows including “The Jerry Springer Show,” “Geraldo,” and “The Jane Whitney Show.” While his appearances were always memorable, there’s something about his “Jane Whitney Show” appearance that was particularly stellar, even for GG. This is GG meeting middle America with all the hysterical overreaction that you would expect from a middle-of-the-road audience. Yes, as a parent, I do find this troubling, but it’s also one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. It truly is a John Waters film come to life.
Unfortunately, I can not find clips of his complete appearance. But what’s here from YouTube is pretty funny. For obvious reasons, not safe for work.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OzPfYcpe8c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ws-XarAE2M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tFgZ6DmXmw
“Best Worst Movie” is a truly funny and charming documentary about the cult following of “Troll 2,” considered by many to be the worst movie ever made. The focus of the film is George Hardy, an Alabama dentist who was the star of “Troll 2” (made back in 1990) and features him relishing his newfound cult fame at fan screenings and other events. On one level, this looks like a Christopher Guest-directed mockumentary about delusional show-biz wannabes (the director Claudio Fragasso is DEFINITELY in this category). However, Hardy comes across as such a sweet, endearing person, that you feel his joy as hundreds of people applaud for him like he’s Brad Pitt and, being high on this success, feel his pain when he attends a horror convention and people don’t seem to care about him or the film he was in. “Best Worst Movie” is a great example of the pleasures and pitfalls of being a “geek celebrity,” when you’re famous for doing something considered freakish. It’s also one of the nicest, non-cliched portrayals of Southerners I’ve ever seen.
OK, it’s been several years since the controversial remarks about Bush Jr., the recorded response about said remarks, and the Grammies awarded for said recorded response. How does this song hold up once we’ve been removed from the early-mid-2000s? My answer: Brilliantly. Beautifully. Magnificently. This song is a classic and another example of producer Rick Rubin’s genius of being able to capture the true essence of whatever artist he works with (from Run DMC to L.L. Cool J to the Beastie Boys to the Cult to Danzig to Slayer to the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Johnny Cash to Neil Diamond) and helping them sound like the artist they believe they are in their hearts and minds. The middle break where Natalie sings about threats and “Shut up and sing or your life will be over” still puts chills up my spine.
Before internet memes were just a twinkle in the eye of bored tech and media geeks, people were doing comedy mash-ups. “Apocalypse Pooh” is the classic mash-up from 1987 between “Apocalypse Now” and “Winnie the Pooh,” remastered beautifully for the digital age. If you’re a fan of either pop cultural touchstone, one of the funniest 7 minutes you’ll ever see!!!!! Seriously!!!!
Aside from “Send in the Clowns,” this cover of Joni Mitchell’s classic song is arguably Sweet Judy Blue Eyes’ most famous song. I first heard this on the radio when I was 7 years old, on some errand with my father. When the song was over, I remember telling my Dad “I really like that song.” My Dad smiled and said “I really like that song too.” No smirk. No smart alecky comment. Just a genuine mutual appreciation of a great song.
One of my favorite covers EVER! Imagine Wilson Pickett coming back from the grave and singing his a– off, covering a Nirvana song. Yes, this is as awesome as it sounds and THIS is how you cover a Nirvana song. Kurt is surely smiling (and dancing) wherever he is.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcTktyfSCRw
More genius from producer Rick Rubin. Mick Jagger’s solo stuff has ranged from the sublime (“Memo from Turner”) to the ridiculous (“Let’s Work”). This one is on the sublime end of the horizon. From Jagger’s almost-forgotten RIck Rubin-produced 1993 album “Wandering Spirit.”
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