Michael Nesmith is a true Renaissance man who has never completely gotten his due. In addition to being one of the original Monkees, Nesmith is a superlative singer-songwriter (he wrote Linda Ronstadt’s hit “Different Drum”), music video pioneer, film producer (he financed “Repo Man”), and media mogul.
“Cruisin’” was one of the first (if not THE first) music video I remember seeing, around 1981 or so. I saw this on HBO of all places (yes, HBO used to play music videos, usually between movies, but also on a 30-minute show called “Video Jukebox”). Very funny and weird song/video.
This song was composed by David Allan Coe, but made famous by a teenage country singer named Tanya Tucker back in the early 1970s. At the time, it was considered salacious to have a teenager sing this due to certain lyrics, but sadly, the controversy diminishes the real beauty of this song. Coe was in and out of prison for most of his early life and if you listen to the lyrics, they are written from the perspective of a man who has seen and done of lot of things that would scare most people away. The person singing the song wants to make sure that whoever is going to share their life with him understand what it will entail, and to make sure that they’re strong enough. Through Cash’s world-weary voice, the song is heartbreaking.
Lou Reed’s semi-comeback, at least with critics, circa 1982. Sober for approximately 2 years, Reed takes the opportunity to look at his years as an alcoholic and drug addict with graphic intensity. “Waves of Fear” makes the Velvet’s “Heroin” look like a romantic ballad (which in many ways, it kind of always was). The supremely sick dissonant, metallic guitar solos by Robert Quine are almost as disturbing as the lyrics.
I really love early Paul Simon and remember playing his 1977 “Greatest Hits, Etc.” album a lot when I was growing up. However, the live version of “Duncan” included on that album was always a song that I came back to. I think it’s those eerily beautiful Andean flute solos that mesmerized me … and still do to this day.
One of the best pop cultural satires of all time, from the 1972 album “Radio Dinner.” When National Lampoon decided to record an audio album in the early 1970s, John Lennon was the ultimate sacred cow and they wondered how could they ultimately savage something that most people believed was above comedy. The answer was simple. Take statements he had made in various interviews over the last few years (remember, this was during Lennon’s “primal scream” days) and lay his exact words over a driving “Imagine”-style piano solo. The result is totally brilliant and hilarious. By the way, Lennon is played by Tony Hendra, the best-selling author of “Father Joe,” who eventually found himself in more than a spot of trouble over some allegations by his daughter that painted him in a less than flattering light. Again, not safe for work, because of a lot of profanity.
Negativland’s legendary “cover” of U2′s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” with the centerpiece being legendary DJ Casey Kasem’s angry, profanity-laden rants at his staff. This bit of audio “fun” resulted in years and millions of dollars in lawsuits. Lots of bad language on this one. However, if there’s one thing you need to remember, “These guys are from England and who gives a s–t?!?”
Another classic from the mid-late 1960s that you never hear on either oldies or classic rock stations. It was a top three hit in Britain and went nowhere in the States, but it appears on the Kinks’ “Something Else” album and also frequently appears on a lot of Kinks best-of albums, even though it’s credited just to Dave Davies much of the time. In any case, I love the primitive B&W video “special effects” in this clip.
Dateline 1976: the Oscars. Peter Finch wins Best Actor for “Network,” which, while a great performance, doesn’t hold a candle to two of the other nominees: Robert DeNiro in “Taxi Driver” and Giancarlo Giannini in “Seven Beauties.” If you put a gun to my head and tell me to pick the better man, I’d smile and say “Giancarlo Giannini.” As much as DeNiro was the bomb in “Taxi Driver,” Giannini (by a hair) blows DeNiro off the screen. (Bobby, relax, you have “Raging Bull” ahead of you).
Holy mackerel, what a great performance in a great film!! No film treads the line between comedy and tragedy better than “Seven Beauties.” Lina Wertmuller was the first woman ever nominated for Best Director, and considering that John Avildsen won it for “Rocky,” she should have taken it. “Seven Beauties” is like Fellini’s “Amarcord” crossed with “Schindler’s List.” The comedy is bawdy (albeit cringe-inducing) and the tragedy, genuinely depressing. The scene where Giannini is sent to a concentration camp with Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries” in the background has to rank as one of the most horrific scenes in movie history. “Seven Beauties” is everything “Life is Beautiful” tried to be, but without the mawkishness.
Unfortunately, the best clip I could find of this scene is the English dubbed version. The dubbing isn’t bad, but I always prefer to watch films in their original language.
If you have Netflix streaming, you can watch it for free! Trust me, this is one of the greatest films in film history and once you see it, you will never be the same. The final scene, while ambiguous in meaning, is one of the saddest things you’ll ever see.
A lovely ballad from the early 1970s that blows Bread and other similar artists from the period out of the water. It boggles the mind why Big Star wasn’t one of the biggest bands of the era. Nearly every one of the songs from their first two albums could have been a Top 10 hit. The failure to break it big probably explains why their 3rd album (albeit great) is one of the most depressing, despairing things ever recorded.
With the exception of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” this is my favorite George Harrison song and arguably the finest song of his late-1980s comeback. And of course, it was thrown away as the end credits song for “Lethal Weapon II.” A really, really lovely song that always brings a smile to my face.
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