One of my favorite paranoia songs of all time by the original Napoleon Dynamite, Mr. Elvis Costello. I really love the low-key intensity of this track. Key line: “Who put these fingerprints on my imagination?” Damn! From the 1979 album “Armed Forces.”
At some point, I’m going to write a lengthy essay on Oliver Stone’s 1991 conspiracy blockbuster “JFK.” I’m not going to argue what’s true or what’s not in this film. Mainly because I don’t know. I don’t buy everything in this film, but it doesn’t mean that it’s not one of the most brilliantly directed and edited political thrillers of all time.
One of my favorite scenes is when Joe Pesci’s David Ferrie character freaks out when being interrogated by Kevin Costner’s Jim Garrison character and Garrison’s cronies. Yes, it’s over the top and hammy … but I freakin’ love it. The way Stone ratchets up the intensity while that brilliant John Williams’ score ratchets up the tension while Pesci’s character goes increasingly berserk and paranoid is a classic film moment.
Sid Vicious’s biggest musical moment … this is Sid’s infamous punk cover of the Frank Sinatra warhorse, with new filthy lyrics. The video, originally at the end of Julien Temple’s Sex Pistols documentary “The Great Rock n Roll Swindle,” is equally as infamous, with a graphically violent climax that must be seen to be believed. Not safe for work.
Perhaps the best use of this song was over the end credits of Martin Scorsese’s gangster classic “Goodfellas,” a perfect choice that sums up the entire picture.
And … as a bonus … here’s the version of the scene from the 1986 Alex Cox-directed biopic “Sid and Nancy” with Gary Oldman dynamically taking the mic as Sid. While this is not Oldman’s first big performance, it was the one that made him famous.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xkzgww_catching-pete-red-handed-part-3_shortfilms
This is one of the most realistic scenes of marriage malaise I’ve ever seen. And not because it involves any of the parties doing anything heinous, like starting an affair, or gambling away the family fortune, or becoming a porn, booze, or drug addict.
No, what starts this crisis is the husband making unexplained disappearances … to spend time by himself because he needs a break. On the surface, this doesn’t seem like a big deal. Except for the fact that his wife needs a break too. And maybe … actually wants to have a break where she spends time with her husband. On the surface, the husband’s desire to see “Spiderman 3” by himself doesn’t seem like a big deal. And that’s sort of correct. But the wife’s reaction … and the knowledge that her husband wants to spend time away from her … is not wrong either. Leslie Mann’s pained reaction to her husband’s actions breaks my heart every time I see it. Key line: “You just think because you don’t yell that you’re not mean.”
By the way, if you can get the accompanying clip to work, more power to you. I can’t find this clip anywhere else and I can only get the clip to work on my phone. So, that’s why I’ve included a transcript of the scene below:
Pete: It’s just that I know you’ve been mad ’cause I’ve been working so much, and I didn’t want to upset you.
Debbie: I wouldn’t be mad. I don’t get mad.
Pet: It’s a fantasy baseball draft. I’m not cheating or anything.
Debbie: No, this is worse.
Pete: How is this worse?
Debbie: This is you wanting to be with your friends more than your family.
Pete: Look, the reason I make that up is because if I told you what I was really doing, you would just get mad. So you think I’m seeing a band, I do my fantasy draft, and it’s win-win.
Debbie: Well, what’d you do last Wednesday night when you said you went to see a band?
Pete: I went to the movies.
Debbie: With who?
Pete: By myself.
Debbie: What’d you see?
Pete: Spider-Man 3.
Debbie: Why do you want to go by yourself? Why didn’t you ask me to go?
Pete: Because I needed to get away, you know. With work and you and the kids, sometimes I just need some time to myself.
Debbie: I need time for myself. I want time for myself, too. You’re not the only one.
Pete: It’s not that big of a deal.
Debbie: I like Spider-Man.
Pete: Okay, so let’s see Spider-Man 3 next week.
Debbie: I don’t wanna go see it now. I don’t wanna have to ask you to ask me. I want you to just come up with it on your own.
Pete: I don’t even know what to say. What do you want me to do?
Debbie: You just think because you don’t yell that you’re not mean, but this is mean.
Pete: I’m not being mean. I’m being honest. You’re telling me I need to be honest.
Debbie: No, you’re not. You’re lying.
Pete: I’m doing it because I need to keep my sanity a little bit.
Debbie: You know what? I don’t want you at the house anymore, okay?
From Jello Biafra’s 1989 spoken word album “High Priest of Harmful Matter” comes this monologue about the “Frankenchrist” trial from 1987. “Frankenchrist” was a 1985 album released by the legendary punk rock group The Dead Kennedys (Biafra’s band at the time) and the album infamously included a poster that featured the H.R. Giger painting “Penis Landscape.”
Never mind that a sticker on the album cover contained a warning label about the poster, Biafra (and others) were brought up on criminal charges for “distributing harmful matter to minors.” What the prosecution hoped to do was for Biafra (an artist on an independent record label) to plead guilty so a legal precedent would be set. The prosecution actually admitted that going after Biafra was a “cost-effective” way to send a message. Had that precedent been set, then prosecutors could have gone after bigger game, such as Prince or Madonna. But Biafra … seeing the big picture and the REAL reason he was targeted … chose to fight the charges instead. Sadly, his fight was without the help of any major record label (who seriously should have seen the bigger picture as well and helped Biafra … but did not). Fighting the charges was expensive and nearly bankrupted Biafra and his record label, but he won … sort of. The trial resulted in a hung jury and the judge chose to dismiss the case after the jury couldn’t come to a unanimous decision.
The entire arrest and subsequent trial are brilliantly (and very entertainingly) explained in this 43-minute monologue. Some bad language here and there, but to quote the label on the “Frankenchrist” album, “life can sometimes be that way.”
Some bizarre footnotes of this trial:
1) Gene Simmons of KISS wanted to the buy Biafra’s life rights to make a dramatic film about the trial with Billy Crystal playing Biafra (?!?)
2) The prosecutor, Michael Guarino, later admitted it was a mistake to have gone after Biafra and later came together with him on Ira Glass’s “This American Life” to discuss the trial and for Guarino to apologize. Guarino also admitted that his son became a huge Dead Kennedys fan in later years and would blast their music to the annoyance of everyone on their street.
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/285/transcript
Here’s an extremely cool and smokin’ punk cover of the Dixie Chicks’ “Goodbye Earl” that doesn’t sacrifice any of the original’s melody or hooks.
Actress Mink Stole … who has starred in several John Waters films over the years … tries her hand at singing and the results are terrific! “Female Trouble” is her take on the theme song from Waters’ 1974 film of the same name and her slow, sultry take goes down well with a fine bourbon. I posted another song from Mink at the start of the year, “Sometimes I Wish I Had a Gun,” which is similarly stunning.
Now, both songs, along with several others are available on Mink’s first (and hopefully, not last) CD, “Do Re Mink” which is available for download on iTunes or on Mink’s website:
http://minkstole.com/?page_id=58
A really wonderful selection of tunes for when you’re feeling especially bad … but in a good way.
Another KROQ-FM favorite. This was actually a Top 100 hit for the American band Sparks (who barely had any chart action in the US, but were huge in England). The accompanying video was allegedly directed by David Lynch (of all people). I say allegedly, because I originally read something that he only produced the clip, but now I’m reading he directed it. (If someone can clear this up, I’ll gladly edit this entry to set the record straight).
Anyway, you may want to turn the bass down on this one because the heavy percussion will blow your speakers. And considering Lynch is involved with this video, it’s more than a little disturbing. Unless, of course, you like seeing a pale skinny guy in a Hitler mustache do a striptease wearing women’s lingerie.
From the album “Angst in my Pants” (one of the best album titles of all-time). More fun trivia: Sparks performed this on SNL back in 1982 … when SNL still showed some adventurous spirit when selecting their musical acts.
Chalk this up to fallout from watching the great Rodney Bingenheimer documentary “Mayor of the Sunset Strip” recently, but I’m in a very KROQ-FM mood right now. Most people know this song from the soundtracks of two iconic 1980s films (“The Last American Virgin” and “Revenge of the Nerds”), but this was one of the songs you could hear in heavy rotation on KROQ-FM (from Los Angeles) back in the early 1980s.
If you’re a fan of Sirius First Wave, you must check out KROQ2, the HD version of KROQ that plays NOTHING but New Wave and (some) Punk from 1977-1985. It’s available on a lot of internet radio apps.
One of the key videos I remember from the first year of having MTV back in 1982. The song is quirky-great, but I really love the surreal imagery and editing that advances at a rapid clip. One of my all-time favorite videos.
Dave's Strange World 