A fine, unsweetened live version of “Swamp” from the Talking Heads’ “Speaking in Tongues” tour in 1983. I say unsweetened, because the version included on the “Stop Making Sense” live CD released in 1984 from some concerts in Los Angeles was allegedly not quite as live as people were led to believe. This version comes from a soundboard recording at the Saratoga show. I’ve always love the dirty, creepy vibe of this song.
Here’s another in-depth interview with comic genius Phil Hendrie, this time by actor/comedian Kevin Pollak for his online talk show “The Kevin Pollak Chat Show.” I’m not sure when this interview was done, but it’s even more in-depth (and p–s your pants hysterical) than the terrific one I linked up last week that Marc Maron did with Hendrie.
For the uninitiated, Hendrie’s talk radio show is basically Hendrie playing himself as a frustrated straight-man radio host interviewing people who are … to put it kindly … some of the most repulsive, idiotic, insensitive, and delusional human beings who have ever existed. The catch is that Hendrie also plays the people he’s interviewing. The joke is on those in the audience who have no clue this is a joke and call in to mercilessly berate the interviewee. The show is comic gold and is the best parody of talk radio you’ll ever experience.
If you’ve never heard Hendrie, this is the place to begin. Hendrie discusses in-depth into why he does he does and goes into the background of several of the characters he’s created on his legendary radio show. If you have heard of Hendrie and especially if you love him, this will be a lot of fun.
The interview is long (approximately 2 hours) … and doesn’t really start until about 22:45 into the program … , but I promise, it’s very entertaining and extremely funny. I should warn you that if you’re sensitive about … well … almost anything … Phil WILL offend you. His job for the last 20 + years has been finding everyone’s sensitive spot and creating a character that will jab a knife in it. Not safe for work or little ones, but I guarantee that you won’t have a better time being offended anywhere else.
And finally … damn, Kevin Pollak is a kick-ass interviewer! But damn, that’s a LONG intro.
From the 1983 album “Subterranean Jungle,” this is the Ramones directly addressing the hardcore turn punk rock had gone by the early 1980s. As record companies abandoned punk for more radio- and video-friendly New Wave, some bands got rawer and more aggressive. The Ramones saw the ante being upped and did their own version of hardcore … fast, nasty, and intense with a tsunami of guitar noise that will drown you within the first 30 seconds.
Ironically, “Psycho Therapy” was produced by 1960s bubblegum rock legend Ritchie Cordell (who wrote the bubblegum classics “Mony Mony,” “I Think We’re Alone Now,” “Gimme Gimme Good Lovin’,” and “Indian Giver”).
The accompanying video was banned by MTV for graphic violence. In other words, not safe for work.
Cock Sparrer had an interesting history back in the early days of punk. They were allegedly approached by the notorious Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren in 1976 to become one of a group of bands he was trying to sign. According to the band, the deal fell apart due to McLaren not buying them a round of beer … or because they refused to cut their hair in the style McLaren wanted … or something … I don’t know. I got this off Wikipedia, so you know it’s true …
Anyway, they had a deal with Decca Records, recorded a self-titled album that was only released in Spain, mainly because Decca had fallen apart as a label by 1977. That first album is a damn fine punk version of the Rolling Stones and eventually became available under different names like “True Grit,” “The Decca Years,” and “Rarities.” Well worth checking out.
Sparrer didn’t release another album until 1983, but what they released was worth the wait. The sound of “Shock Troops” is less bluesy than the album recorded for Decca and more in line with the punk the day. The album has a nice sense of melody and toughness. “Where Are They Now?” is the great lead-off track.
This Leonard Cohen song is almost becoming a cliche in terms of being covered by singers trying to be “serious” or “spiritual.” But it’s still a great song. Jeff Buckley’s 1997 cover is probably the most famous of all the most recent versions, but I prefer John Cale’s take. Cale’s cover was the version that was featured rather prominently in the first “Shrek” film. Hearing Cale’s inimitable Welsh voice sing this while watching a very mainstream family film was an odd, but very cool experience when I saw “Shrek” in 2001.
The 2nd track from the classic “The Velvet and Underground and Nico” album from 1967, this is a song about buying heroin in NYC when songs about heroin were not chic or cool. This drug song is not about expanding your mind, yadda, yadda, yadda. This is about the cold reality of street drugs and the desperate need for them. The relentless, driving rhythm of this song is infectious, but scary given the subject matter.
From the Beastie Boys’ debut “Licensed to Ill,” this is the track (even more so than “Fight for your Right”) that sucked me into the world of the Beasties back in 1986. The title is a shout-out to Motorhead’s classic “No Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith” live LP. The positively sick lead guitar is by Kerry King of Slayer (which becomes prominent when the gorilla starts his solo in the video). This album is in my all-time Top 20 … and as much as I admired the avant-garde direction the Beasties went later in their career (especially 1989’s “Paul’s Boutique), this is the one I never hesitate to listen to.
F–k “The Exorcist”! THIS is the scariest film of all time … because it involves real life at its worst … whatever good is in it is eroding away bit by bit. Based on David Mamet’s Pulitzer Prize winning play, this is a film about men who have had varying degrees of success in their life, but are now not doing so great. They’re a millimeter away from losing their livelihood … and they’re resorting to desperate means to hold onto what little they have. This movie disturbed me as recent college graduate in 1992 … it scares me even more 20+ years later.
This scene … the most famous in the film … involves a sales leader browbeating and emasculating the desperate men who are their weakest. This is darkly funny on one level … horrendously sad and depressing on another. This is the dark side of the American Dream … the side which says if you fail, it’s because you didn’t work hard enough, you didn’t want it badly enough, because … you weren’t man enough.
Aside from his genius portrayal of CEO Jack Donaghy on the comedy TV classic “30 Rock,” this is Alec Baldwin’s greatest performance. The other performances by Jack Lemmon, Ed Harris, Alan Arkin, and Kevin Spacey are all top-notch, as well. This is not safe for work by any means. This is verbal brutality at its most heinous. A-B-C. Always be closing … ALWAYS BE CLOSING!
The Butthole Surfers’ “unique” take on Black Sabbath’s “Sweet Leaf”. One of the greatest openings to a song ever:
“Daddy, what does regret mean?
Well son, the funny thing about regret is,
It’s better to regret something you have done,
Than to regret something you haven’t done.
And by the way, if you see your mom this weekend,
Be sure and tell her, SATAN, SATAN, SATAN!!!”
From the 1988 album “Locust Abortion Technician.”
The terrific and gloriously politically incorrect opening of writer/director Christopher McQuarrie’s 2000 film “Way of the Gun” … McQuarrie’s follow-up to his Oscar-winning script for “The Usual Suspects.” The performance by Sarah Silverman as the obnoxious girlfriend is beyond perfect. The fact that the entire sequence is underscored by the Rolling Stones’ “Rip This Joint” makes it even more memorable. Be warned, though. The language (and action in the sequence) is beyond obscene … not safe for work, little ones, or those who are highly sensitive.
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