Monthly Archives: March 2013

“Old Kentucky Home” – Randy Newman

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Another gem from Randy Newman’s 1970 “12 Songs” album, this is Newman’s take on Stephen Foster’s “My Old Kentucky Home.” Newman’s version is not what you would call a friendly vision of the American South, but it’s done with a light enough touch so as to be more sardonic than mean.

Warren Zevon attempted something similar with 1982’s “Play it All Night Long,” but because it was much more explicit, it just came off as smug and patronizing and says more about Zevon than the people he was trying to attack.

“Suzanne” – Randy Newman

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Forget the Police’s “Every Breath You Take.” As creepy as that song is, Randy Newman’s “Suzanne” is even more disturbing. If Sting sounded coldly calculating in his stalker anthem, Newman adds a quiet confidence that is terrifying. The song is arranged like a nightmare: lazy piano rhythms lull you into a sense of relaxation while an organ nervously tries to tell you something’s wrong. Except the organ isn’t quite loud or powerful enough to warn you in time.

Though, leave it to Newman to have the last laconic, dry-as the-Sahara observation about his protagonist: “This guy is not really much of a threat.”

“Carmelita” – Warren Zevon

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From Zevon’s self-titled album from 1976, comes one of his saddest and grimmest ballads, this time about a heroin addict at the end of his rope. This has been covered by everyone, from Linda Rondstadt to G.G. Allin. If you get the 2-CD deluxe edition of this album, the original demos and alternate takes of this song are even better.

“Bird on a Wire” (Live at Montreux 1994) – Johnny Cash

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Cash’s beautiful cover of one of Leonard Cohen’s best and most famous songs. I like this even better than Cohen’s original, mainly because that voice of Cash’s sounds like he really lived these lyrics. This is a live version that’s not too different than the studio version he recorded with Rick Rubin in 1994 for “American Recordings.”

“Pale Blue Eyes” – Alejandro Escovedo

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An absolutely lovely cover of the Velvet Underground’s “Pale Blue Eyes” by Alejandro Escovedo, former member of the punk group The Nuns and the alternative country band Rank and File. From the 2009 album “Bourbonitis Blues”. I don’t know who the female  singer is who sings duet on this, but her voice is absolutely angelic. If someone knows who this is, please let me know … gotta give credit where credit is due.

The Warhol Party Scene from “The Doors” (1991) dir. Oliver Stone

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Drug freakout scenes are one of my favorite cliches in movies.  My all-time favorite drug freakout scene (with the exception of Helen Hunt trying to fly in the 1982 CBS TV-movie “Desperate Lives”) is this scene from Oliver Stone’s “The Doors.”  With the Velvet Underground’s “Venus in Furs” and “Heroin” playing in the background, Val Kilmer’s Jim Morrison takes a walk on the wild side with all kinds of Andy Warhol characters from Tom Baker (played by Michael Madsen), Warhol (played by Crispin Glover), Nico (played by Christina Fulton), and some unnamed Warhol assistant (played by Oscar winning 70s singer/songwriter Paul Williams).  Seeing this on home video doesn’t compare to seeing this film on a huge screen with booming stereo sound back in the day.  The wobbly, boat-in-a-tsunami camera movements are much more intense and caused me to have a major headache when I saw this in a theater.

“I’m Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down” – Graham Parker and the Rumour

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An outstanding, snarling, but still soulful hard rock cover of the Ann Peebles’ 1973 R&B classic. This live version is even better than the studio version included on Parker’s 1977 album “Stick to Me.” If there’s ever an artist that needs rediscovering, it’s Parker. Parker is like an angrier, more sarcastic Bruce Springsteen and like the Boss, had an outstanding band behind him (The Rumour) that always delivered.