“Over the Edge” (1979) dir. Jonathan Kaplan

Posted on October 27, 2012 by Dave's Strange World

Jonathan Kaplan’s criminally underrated and nearly forgotten 1979 film “Over the Edge” is one of the best and most frightening films about teenagers ever made. According to various things I’ve read over the years (which may or may not be true), either “Edge” or “The Great Santini” was intended to be Orion Pictures first release (it was actually George Roy Hill’s criminally underrated and nearly forgotten “A Little Romance” – featuring the debut of the lovely Diane Lane), but like many of Orion’s films during the illustrious, but tumultuous time they were around, seemed to be plagued by poor marketing, poor distribution, or skittish executives not quite sure how to market a great film that didn’t fit into any commercial niche.

“Edge” is about a planned community named New Granada which seems to be a suburban paradise, except for the fact the planners never provided anything for the growing population of older kids (who are not yet driving age) to do. With nothing to do, the kids fill their time with sex, drugs, and crime, leading to a very frightening climax. While the film is tastefully made (given the subject matter), I’m really shocked this got a PG rating (even given the permissive standards of the late 1970s). This film would have enormous trouble getting greenlit today, let alone getting by with anything less than an R rating. Everything from the writing, to the directing (by Jonathan Kaplan) to the acting (including a star-making screen debut by Matt Dillon) is top-notch.

“Edge” is based on a true story from the early 1970s where a planned upper-middle class suburban community near San Francisco named Foster City had a higher juvenile crime rate than any other comparable community in the country. The problem was that this planned community (which had man-made canals with docks attached to homes, so one could boat to a local grocery store) had nothing designed for the large population of young people to do. The community became overrun with vandalism, arson, bombings, and other activities more affiliated with war zones. The story became the subject of a highly read San Francisco Chronicle article about Foster City by Bruce Koon (“Mousepacks: Kids on a Crime Spree) and screenwriters Charlie Haas and Tim Hunter wrote a screenplay based on the article.

I won’t go into more detail about the inception, production, release, and critical resurrection of the film, because a very lengthy 30th anniversary oral history published in Vice Magazine tells the story much better than I can. After you watch the film, please please please read this article, which will tell you everything you need to know:

http://www.vice.com/read/over-the-edge-134-v16n9

As for the film, “Over the Edge” is a must see and just gets scarier the older I (and my children) get. I lived in a community very similar to New Granada recently and remember the alarming reports of shocked adults finding empty beer cans, liquor bottles, and used condoms in the trails behind the homes. After a few months there, I told my wife, “There’s a movie you need to see that’s exactly like where we live now.”

“Suburbia” (1983) dir. Penelope Spheeris

Posted on October 26, 2012 by Dave's Strange World

Before director Penelope Spheeris entered the Hollywood mainstream with “Wayne’s World” and “The Beverly Hillbillies,” she directed the seminal punk and metal documentaries “The Decline of Western Civilization Parts 1 and 2” and also directed “Suburbia,” a punk melodrama for legendary exploitation producer Roger Corman in 1983. Corman has always had a knack for recognizing filmmaking talent and gave Spheeris a lot of leeway in making “Suburbia” as long as she delivered plenty of action, violence, and nudity (including a church riot homage to Corman’s biker classic from the 1960s, “The Wild Angels”).

“Suburbia” delivers plenty of action, violence and nudity, but with a couple of exceptions, most of the people appearing in the film were actual punks she ran into and cast in the film (including a pre-Red Hot Chili Pepper’s Flea, billed as Mike B. the Flea in the credits, in a pivotal supporting role). This isn’t the slickest film in the world by any means, but while the kids engage in a lot of anti-social behavior, the film is obviously and overwhelmingly on their side, sympathizes tremendously with their troubled backgrounds, and is easily one of the best and heartfelt punk films ever made.

One of the best moviegoing memories from my youth was seeing “Suburbia’ in a packed midnight screening (with an audience full of mohawks and trenchcoats) with a good friend of mine and my friend’s Dad, who attended the screening with us since me and my friend were not legally able to drive. The audience went completely nuts at the beginning of the film, when the wild dog attacks a toddler (one of the worst mannequin substitutes I’ve ever seen in any idiom), which isn’t funny, but kind of is in the context of the film and the audience. My friend’s Dad (who, at the time, was roughly about my age now) took the film in stride, enjoyed himself, and later compared the film to “Rebel Without a Cause” on the ride home, which he highly recommended to us. While I later saw “Rebel” and thought it a much superior film, I have a really soft spot in my heart for “Suburbia.” It’s too bad Spheeris hasn’t made too many films recently. A vastly underrated filmmaking talent.

“Super” – NEU!

Posted on October 25, 2012 by Dave's Strange World

Further proof that not all 1970s progressive rock sucked. In fact, between Brian Eno, Can, early Roxy Music, King Crimson, and NEU!, it could be pretty freaking terrific. The aggression and heaviness of “Super” by NEU! (recorded in 1973) is a blueprint for punk a few years later.

“Yoo Doo Right” – Can

Posted on October 25, 2012 by Dave's Strange World

I’ve always dug this mellow, but disturbing extended 20-minute+ jam by Krautrock pioneers Can (edited down from 6 hours!). From their great psychedelic jazz punk album from 1969, “Monster Movie,” comes “You Doo Right.” The best way to listen to this is just to turn it on and do something else. The song’s creepy vibe will eventually get to you. “I was blind, now I can see! You made a believer outta me!”

“The Bed” – Lou Reed

Posted on October 25, 2012 by Dave's Strange World

OK, if you’re even nominally depressed or down emotionally, please do not listen to this or watch this clip. “The Bed” is from Lou Reed’s legendary downer of an album from 1973, “Berlin.” “Berlin” was recorded after Reed achieved commercial success with “Walk on the Walk Side” and almost 40 years later, is still considered one of the most perverse commercial moves in a major artist’s career. “Berlin” was produced by Bob Ezrin, the producing genius behind Alice Cooper’s brilliant early albums/singles and later, Pink Floyd’s downer masterpiece from 1979 “The Wall.” “Berlin” is a tale of the downward spiral relationship between two meth junkies (Jim and Caroline), one of whom (Caroline) also seems to be mentally ill. If anything, “Berlin” makes “The Wall” sound upbeat in its despairing view of humanity and the depths people can sink in their own self-destruction. “Berlin” was dismissed as a perverse joke by some critics at the time, a maudlin wallowing in misery by others. There was talk over the years of mounting a stage production of “Berlin,”, but poor sales and negative reviews of the album halted these ideas.

However, despite the bad state Reed was in when he recorded this album, the songwriting and production of “Berlin” are quite brilliant, and almost 40 years later, the album really holds up. Reed (over 25 years sober) finally achieved his dream of performing the album in its entirety with a 30-piece orchestra and choir in 2007, which was brilliantly captured by Oscar-nominated director Julian Schnabel in the 2008 film “Lou Reed’s Berlin,” well worth checking out if you’re a fan of Reed, Schnabel, or Ezrin.

“The Love You Save (May Be Your Own)” – Joe Tex

Posted on October 25, 2012 by Dave's Strange World

Not to be confused with the Jackson 5 hit of the same name, this is a wonderful R&B ballad by Joe Tex from 1966 that was resurrected by the Quentin Tarantino half of 2007’s “Grindhouse” (“Death Proof”). While “Death Proof” was not the strongest Tarantino film (though it does have its charms), the soundtrack (as always for a Tarantino film) is pretty awesome.

“Early Morning Wake Up Call” – The Hives

Posted on October 22, 2012 by Dave's Strange World

Sweden’s garage punk kings, The Hives, superbly cover the Australian new wave classic by Flash and the Pan. This cover is sooooo 1981, but in the best and coolest way. The wall of noise comprising heavy guitars and synthesizers is beyond awesome. If the Hives made a music video for this shot on grainy 16mm, it would be damn near perfect. From the Hives 2010 EP “Tarred and Feathered.”

“Six Days on the Road” – Taj Mahal

Posted on October 21, 2012 by Dave's Strange World

Mahal’s rockin’ cover of Dave Dudley’s classic trucker anthem “Six Days on the Road” has been a frequent play on Sirius XM’s Little Steven’s Underground Garage for the past couple of months. I’m not quite sure why, since this cover is over 40 years old and don’t think it’s appeared in any film, TV show, or commercial recently, but who am I to question the great taste of the programmers at the world’s best radio station? Seriously, wouldn’t you rather hear this awesome track in heavy rotation on classic rock radio stations instead of, well, pretty much the entire oeuvre of Styx or Supertramp? From Mahal’s 1968 album “Giant Step.”

“Nobody But You Babe” – Clarence Reid

Posted on October 21, 2012 by Dave's Strange World

Most people these days know Clarence Reid by his XXX-rated alter ego Blowfly. If you don’t know Blowfly, you should really check out the superb documentary “The Weird World of Blowfly” (available on Netflix instant). While Blowfly’s XXX-rated parodies of popular songs (“S–tting Off the Dock of the Bay”) make me laugh, it’s sad that more people these days don’t know what a solid R&B singer Reid was back in the day (and still is for that matter!). In my opinion, he was the equal of Wilson Pickett and Otis Redding. “Nobody But You Babe” is from Reid’s terrific 1969 Atco label album “Dancin’ With Nobody But You Babe.” Reid also wrote Betty Wright’s hit “Clean Up Woman” as well as some KC and the Sunshine Band’s early hits. Reid is also the father of WNBA player Tracy Reid. Definitely an artist worthy of further investigation.

“Last Days Here” (2012) dir. Don Argott & Demian Fenton

Posted on October 19, 2012 by Dave's Strange World

One of the most disturbing, poignant, and oddly inspiring films I’ve seen this year is the documentary “Last Days Here.” It’s about Bobby Liebling, the lead singer of 1970s doom metal pioneers Pentagram, who were considered the missing link between Led Zeppelin and the Sex Pistols back in the day. They came close to the brass ring a couple of times, but never made it, despite having a huge cult following over the last 30-40 years. The documentary opens showing Bobby at the absolute bottom of drug addiction (heroin, crack, and meth), living in his parent’s basement. He’s in his 50s, but looks like he’s in his 80s. The tale of how he pulls himself up from the bottom (with the help of a new manager and superfan named Sean Pelletier) is nothing short of amazing. Mainly because most people in Bobby’s condition never pull themselves out. If you’ve ever known someone like Bobby and seen what typically happens with someone in his shape, Bobby’s transformation is miraculous. The denouement is absolutely astonishing and if it doesn’t bring a tear to your eye, you’re not human. While a part of you may cynically surmise “Yeah … let’s see where Bobby is a few years from now,” one could easily say the same thing about me, you, or anyone you know. Seriously, at my age, I’ve seen enough curveballs thrown my way (and towards others I know) that you never know where real life will lead you, even if you do all the right things. And if anyone deserves a happy ending, it’s Bobby. Bobby, wherever you are, best of luck to you and your family!

It’s available on Netflix streaming, so what are you waiting for?