One of the best concerts I ever saw was Jane’s Addiction in the fall of 1990 on their tour supporting “Ritual de lo Habitual.” The highlight of that concert (for me, at least) was their extended version of “Summertime Rolls” from their album “Nothing’s Shocking,” which seemed to last over 10 minutes. Because I had a free ticket and the typical dick-ish rock critic’s snobbery, I went in with a cynical attitude expecting the worst, but came out converted to the church of Perry Ferrell.
After a decade of odd musical diversions, Neil Young came back like a motherf–ker in 1989 with the positively brutal “Rockin’ in the Free World,” which laid waste to most of the heavy metal of the prior decade, as well as most of the punk. “Free World” sounded like it would have been at home on Husker Du’s “Zen Arcade.” Over 20 years later, it still packs a wallop.
Siouxsie (of Siouxsie and the Banshees) does her solo thing, circa 2007. “About to Happen” sounds like Siouxsie’s homage to 1970s glitter rock. From her album “MantaRay.” Play extremely f–king loud!
The lead-off track to the Jesus and Mary Chain’s classic 1985 debut album “Psychocandy,” “Just Like Honey” was also put to great use in Sofia Coppola’s 2003 film “Lost in Translation.” Never has distortion sounded so majestic.
One of the earliest videos I remember seeing on MTV and arguably, the best song the Pretenders ever recorded, “Back on the Chain Gang” was a lamentation about the drug-induced death of former bandmate James Honeyman-Scott. An incredibly deep song that has not lost its resonance, despite its frequent appearance on classic rock and oldies stations over the years. This was the Pretenders highest-charting song in the US (it made it all the way to #5 on the Billboard charts in 1982).
A classic from the late 1960s and a song that meant a lot to a friend of mine, who has since passed on. Hopefully, he’s found a more positive vibe wherever his soul has landed.
The title track from Charles Bradley’s most recent album, Bradley is keeping the flame of Otis Redding and James Brown alive in the 2010s. A terrific song from a terrific album. Damn, what are you waiting for ?!?
This sounds like it came from Muscle Shoals circa 1967, but it was actually recorded in 2011. This is Charles Bradley’s Stax-Volt -style cover of Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold” and it is damn magnificent. From Bradley’s stellar album “No Time for Dreaming.”
The original “Carrie” from director Brian DePalma is one of my all-time favorite films and I’m fairly certain the remake, coming out this fall, is probably going to suck big time. But I will say that this CGI-“Carrie” remake does have some impressive credentials: “Boys Don’t Cry” director Kimberly Pierce, Julianne Moore as the religious fanatic mom, and Chloe Grace Moretz as Carrie. And despite myself, the trailer does look really good. Of course, the fact that I’m a sucker for that song “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?” doesn’t hurt either.
“To Live and Die in L.A.” is one of the best crime films of the 1980s. Looking at the trailer, you’d be hard-pressed to figure out why the film wasn’t a hit, considering its rapid-fire editing, intense action, and excellent cast, which featured Willem Dafoe, William Peterson, John Turturro, and John Pankow early in their careers. On the surface, it looks like every Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer produced box-office blockbuster from the period.
However, director William Friedkin has an uncanny ability to make things complex, where the alleged “good guys” aren’t all that good. In fact, the good guys do a lot of morally and legally objectionable things … but unlike a “Dirty Harry” film, they pay dearly for their transgressions. In other words, “To Live and Die in L.A.” makes you, the audience member, pay dearly for your transgressions, more specifically, your voyeurism at all the graphic violence and sex that Friedkin piles on. Nobody says movie watching is easy, but if you’re OK with films that explore grey areas, “To Live and Die in L.A.” is an amazing experience. I remember seeing it twice in the theater when I was 15 (you gotta love those morally lackadaisical theater owners back in the day who didn’t give a s–t about enforcing R-ratings) and among friends who had seen it, we all thought it was as cool as “Scarface.” To say this is a movie they don’t make anymore is an understatement. I’m actually surprised it got greenlit back in the 1980s. Today, it might get a nod as a cable movie, but that’s about it.
Dave's Strange World 