After giving high praise to the Beatles’ original, here’s the lost, molar-rattling, rude, and punk-as-hell Beastie Boys cover that was supposed to be included on their legendary Rick Rubin-produced 1986 masterpiece “Licensed to Ill,” but was left off for legal reasons. Rumor has it that Michael Jackson, by then the copyright owner, put the kabosh on it. He felt fine licensing the Beatles’ most political song “Revolution” to Nike but … well … that’s another story. All I can say is … thank God for YouTube.
Recorded during the same 1965 session as “Yesterday,” “I’m Down” is in my opinion, the Beatles’ best flat-out rocker and the best B-side of all-time. Yes, “Revolution” and “Helter Skelter” may sound “heavier,” but “I’m Down” is much more ferocious in terms of speed and attitude. McCartney tries to out “Little Richard” Little Richard here and he comes really damn close to achieving his goal. A phenomenal tune that again … shockingly … was merely the B-side to “Help” and wasn’t included on a proper album until the late 1970s, when it appeared on their “Rock n’ Roll Music” compilation.
OK … who out there remembers Michael Winslow? For those who don’t remember, he was the guy that became notorious in the 1980s for making funny noises with his mouth in countless comedy films, most famously the “Police Academy” series and a couple of “Cheech and Chong” films.
In case you wondered, Winslow is still around … and still doing some amazing things with his voice. Here’s Winslow doing a cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” for a Norwegian talk show called “Senkveld med Thomas og Harald.” Everything here, but the acoustic guitar is courtesy of Winslow’s mouth. Prepare to have your mind blown … seriously! Why someone hasn’t released this a single is beyond comprehension.
This is a legendary, nearly 3-hour interview with film director John Landis from the Kevin Pollak Chat Show that is one of the best and most candid interviews I’ve ever seen with a director. Landis directed some of the funniest movies ever made (“Kentucky Fried Movie,” “National Lampoon’s Animal House,” “The Blues Brothers,” “An American Werewolf in London,” “Trading Places,” “Coming to America”), some terrific documentaries (“Slasher” and “Mr. Warmth”), and arguably, the most famous music video of all time (“Michael Jackson’s Thriller”). Landis has so many great, oftentimes extremely funny, tales of a career that spans almost 50 years … one that started when he was a teenager. It’s a career that includes directing the likes of Michael Jackson, Eddie Murphy, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Don Rickles, and many others too numerous to mention. I don’t know if everything he’s sharing is the truth, but even if 20% of what he says is true, he’s lived a more exciting life than pretty much anyone reading this right now. The man is a great storyteller and this interview seems way shorter than it actually is. If you’re a comedy or film nerd, you must watch this.
For your consideration … here’s 20 minutes of Bob & Doug MacKenzie clips recorded for various “SCTV” episodes during the early 1980s. The origin for the MacKenzie brothers came from the Canadian government who insisted that “SCTV” broadcast two minutes of exclusively Canadian “content.” SCTV producer/writer/performer Dave Thomas was flabbergasted at such a demand, so he decided to give them the worst stereotype of Canada he could possibly think of. Thomas and fellow SCTV cast member / writer Rick Moranis gave them two dumb drunk Canadians who talked about nonsense for two minutes. Thomas said that all of their clips were made up on the spot and because they were recorded at the end of the day when everyone went home … they took full advantage of this time to … well … to unwind … meaning that beer they were enjoying was real. I think that’s called method acting, eh.
The irony, of course, was that this throwaway bit, done with as little preparation as possible, wound up becoming “SCTV”‘s most popular recurring segment, leading to a Top 10 album in the US and a feature-length film for MGM in 1983 called “Strange Brew.” I’m sure any similarity with the creation of the MacKenzie Brothers and Spike Lee’s “Bamboozled” is purely coincidental.
If you’re at all interested in the MacKenzie Brothers, “Strange Brew” or SCTV in general, you’re encouraged to check out the mammoth 4-hour podcast from the Projection Booth about all of these things. The podcast is hosted by Mike White, Skizz Cyzyk, and actor Craig Bierko (“The Long Kiss Goodnight,” “Cinderella Man”) and features interviews with Thomas, screenwriter Steve De Jarnatt, actress Lynne Griffin (“Pam”), and author Jeff Robbins. It’s a beauty, eh. http://projection-booth.blogspot.com/2014/09/episode-182-strange-brew.html
Dave's Strange World 