The hardest rocking Scandanavians in recent memory (Norwegian death metal excluded) returned in 2012 with the album “Lex Hives.” “Go Right Ahead” was the single and it’s kind of a louder, crunchier version of ELO’s “Don’t Bring Me Down.” This is a killer live version and, like most Swedish pop bands, the band is still rocking the matching suits.
The American punk pop pioneers from hardcore’s glory years returned in 2012 with a lo-fi, but hooky and criminally catchy fist pumper. It’s nice to see a band whose band members are in their late 40s/early 50s still rocking harder than younger angst-filled cretins. From the album “Researching the Blues.”
The late, great comedian Mitch Hedberg’s classic routine about teeth, tarter, fish and other topics. If you’ve never heard Hedberg, his jokes may seem like the corniest ones you’ve ever heard. But his delivery is amazing and you will find yourself laughing despite yourself. It was a sad day for comedy when Hedberg passed. He was a true original. However, there is some off-color language here, so not safe for work or little ones.
Robert Downey Jr.’s father Robert Downey Sr. is one of the best and most subversive filmmakers of the last 50 years. “Putney Swope” is considered his masterpiece and it’s an extremely funny (albeit very odd) satire on race relations, the media, and the world of advertising.
When a CEO for a large advertising firm dies from a heart attack, the sole African-American member of the board, Putney Swope (played by Arnold Johnson) gets accidentally elected CEO unanimously by the other board members. This is due to the white board members voting for Swope as a tactic to prevent one of their rivals from getting elected, not realizing that everyone else is doing the same thing. As soon as Swope gets elected, he fires everyone and changes the name of the company to Truth and Soul. The commercials Swope’s new company produces are a huge success, mainly due to their frequent profanity and nudity. However, despite the new changes and Swope’s promises to do things with more honesty and integrity, he turns out to be just as corrupt as his predecessors.
The tone of the film is very bizarre and when you first watch it, it will take a while to get used to it. However, once you do, you’re in for quite a ride. No matter what you hold sacred, this is a film WILL offend you, even though you’ll probably find yourself in hysterics. It’s a film that never fails to make me nearly piss my pants laughing. A subversive comedy masterpiece
P.T. Anderson is a huge Downey Sr. fan, not only hiring Downey for a small, but pivotal role in “Boogie Nights” (the recording studio owner who says “YP” and “MP”), but also naming Don Cheadle’s character “Swope” and having a character randomly throwing firecrackers in the air for no reason.
In this clip, the man in the Arabian headdress is none other than Antonio (Huggy Bear) Fargas.
This clip shows two of Swope’s commercials. The first one is not safe for work due to some brief nudity. The second one features actress Martha Plimpton’s mom (Shelley Plimpton) in a politically incorrect singing duet with her African-American boyfriend, played by 70s pop star Ronnie Dyson (“Why Can’t I Touch You?”).
A pre-Blues Explosion Jon Spencer rocks the paint off the walls with his notorious former band Pussy Galore. From the album “Sugarshit Sharp,” here’s “Sweet Little Hi-Fi”.
From the 1985 album “Bad Moon Rising,” “Death Valley ’69” is Sonic Youth’s take on the Manson murders. It’s the first Sonic Youth song I ever heard and is still my favorite.
I remember seeing this very disturbing video uncut for the first time on the phenomenal (and long gone) late-night USA Network show “Night Flight” back in the mid-1980s and it completely blew me away. The video is directed by Judith Barry and famed underground filmmaker/photographer Richard Kern. The video has a lot of graphic violence and is not safe for work or little ones.
From Nixon’s 1990 album “Otis,” this is a funny slam on Boomer superstar Don Henley by the ever-sensitive Mr. Nixon. Bizarre / cool footnote: Don Henley joined Mojo Nixon on stage in Austin, TX several years later to perform this song, which impressed Nixon enough to change the name of the song to “Rick Astley Must Die.” Per Nixon: “(Henley) has balls the size of church bells!”
My favorite Boomtown Rats song and one of my favorite songs about paranoia of all time. This is a truncated version, but it still contains my favorite verse in full: “And I wish you’d stop whispering … don’t flatter yourself, nobody’s listening … but it makes me nervous, those things you say …” before exploding into a hateful and angry invective at a perceived (possibly imaginary) adversary.
It’s time to pour yourself a double (or triple) of whatever poison you prefer and listen to Ms. Simone. The only thing missing from this splendid cover of the original Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ meisterwork is the sound of ice clinking in your glass. There’s anger, bitterness, guilt, and extremely high sexual tension in the air. In other words, much more than a mortal man or woman can handle in under two minutes and 40 seconds. Your therapist, life coach, priest, rabbi, or Scientology auditor can wait until morning …
Back when I was in high school during the mid-late 1980s, I was vaguely aware of the Smiths. I knew they were the hip band du jour in England and in many quarters in America. However, I didn’t really listen to a lot of their stuff. Sometime around 1986 or so, I noticed random goth girls looking at me very intently. I wasn’t quite sure what this was about until one told me I looked like Morrissey of the Smiths. She showed me a picture and I did see a resemblance. Only knowing that people considered him hip, I thought this was very cool and started to explore the Smiths music in more detail. Not being the fastest human in the world, I thought this would be my entree into stud-dom … I’m going to pause for 60 seconds for all of you to finish convulsing in hysterics … OK, are we done, now? Let’s continue …
At the time, I didn’t realize that girls that were into Morrissey were not exactly the types that would be ready to request my services in the carnality. It didn’t help matters that I lettered in theater … Seriously, stop laughing, motherf–kers! … It’s only after I realized that Morrissey was not a role model for someone who wanted to be successful with girls that I sort-of started to come into my own.
I stopped listening to the Smiths and Morrissey for several years and have only started to re-explore their stuff. They’ll never be my favorite band, but there are some gems in their oeuvre. “Everyday Is Like Sunday,” from Morrissey’s debut solo album “Viva Hate,” is a particular favorite and I think is the greatest song he ever had any involvement with.
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