Siouxsie (minus the Banshees) finally going solo, circa 2007. It’s inspiring to see performers get better as they get older. “Into a Swan” should have been a bigger hit. I’m sorry she hasn’t done another solo album since “MantaRay,” which was really terrific.
This soulful, raw piano acoustic demo is probably my favorite Bowie recording of all time. Thankfully, it was included as a bonus track on one of the more recent rereleases of “Ziggy Stardust.”
One of the best “one-hit wonders” of the 1990s. A fine update of late 1970s Elvis Costello into the age of post-irony. The song sounds like it was recorded in a wind tunnel and is best played extremely loud.
One of the most underrated singer-songwriters of the late 1970s is David Johansen, former lead singer of the New York Dolls. Here’s my favorite Johansen solo track, this time in a stelllar live version from the promotion-only “The David Johansen Group Live” album recorded at New York City’s Bottom Line club in 1978. Whether with the Dolls, solo, or in his Buster Poindexter alter-ego persona (sadly, where Johansen found his biggest commercial success), the man knows how to put on a show.
One of the things I love discovering music-wise are unique and cool covers of great songs. Today’s model: a cover of Chris Bell’s mopey, but brilliant mid-1970s pre-emo classic “I Am the Cosmos” by the 4AD masters of mope (not meant to be an insult, by the way), This Mortal Coil. I never thought I’d say this about This Mortal Coil, but this kind of rocks a little. Not so much you’d put a lighter and fist in the air, but it’s a bit peppier than “Song to the Siren” or “Holocaust.” And I really like the double-tracked vocals that reminded me of Grand Funk Railroad’s cover of “Locomotion.” (Yes, I know, I’m making this sound dreadful, but trust me, it’s really very very cool). It’s better than Scarlett Johannson’s decent, but pedestrian Fiona Apple-esque take with Pete Yorn. Color me impressed.
One of the best, most brutal, and weirdest Australian films ever made is getting a major American reissue via Alamo Drafthouse Films. “Wake in Fright” was thought to be a lost film, but a negative in great shape was found a few years ago and the film was restored. This is the Australian “Deliverance”. Director Ted Kotcheff later went on to direct “North Dallas Forty” (arguably, the best American football film ever made) and the original “First Blood” (a great film, especially when you forget the moronic blockbuster “Rambo” sequel).
As Martin Scorsese said, “WAKE IN FRIGHT is a deeply – and I mean deeply – unsettling and disturbing movie. I saw it when it premiered at Cannes in 1971, and it left me speechless. Visually, dramatically, atmospherically and psychologically, it’s beautifully calibrated and it gets under your skin one encounter at a time. I’m excited that WAKE IN FRIGHT has been preserved and restored and that it is finally getting the exposure it deserves.”
Of all the raunchy nostalgia comedies to ride the wave of success of “National Lampoon’s Animal House,” “The Hollywood Knights” is probably the best. Featuring Michelle Pfeiffer, Tony Danza, Fran Drescher, and last, but certainly not least, Robert Wuhl as the immortal Newbomb Turk when they were young and unknown, “The Hollywood Knights” is one of those rare movies that may not be particularly good in the traditional sense, but every time it’s on, damn if I’m not watching it beginning to end. Which, of course, means it’s totally f–king great. Someone posted the entire movie on YouTube, so watch it before the copyright holders get wise to it. And because of nudity, language, and severely raunchy R-rated humor, not safe for work.
I missed this one a couple of days ago, but I just wanted to pay tribute to one of my all-time favorite character actors. I remember first seeing Lom when I was 5 years old in “The Return of the Pink Panther,” playing Peter Sellers’ Inspector Clouseau’s character’s long-suffering boss Chief Inspector Dreyfus. He was quite good in any number of movies he appeared in, but in addition to Dreyfus, my favorites are the original “Ladykillers” from 1955, his KGB spy in “Hopscotch” (1980) and as the kindly neurologist in David Cronenberg’s “The Dead Zone” (1983).
Here is one of my favorite Lom / Dreyfus scenes, from the opening of 1976’s “The Pink Panther Strikes Again.” Dreyfus is leaving a mental hospital after being driven mad by being Clouseau’s boss, but goes off the deep end again after running into Clouseau. This is a bit slapsticky (director Blake Edwards’s stock in trade), but it still brings a smile to my face.
An early cover of The Velvet Underground’s “Rock and Roll” by Mitch Ryder’s post Detroit Wheels’ project with the guitars and volume cranked up. Lou Reed famously said this version was superior to the Velvet’s version, which he confirmed by hiring the producer of this album (Bob Ezrin) for Reed’s 1973 album “Berlin” and guitarist Steve Hunter for his legendary “Rock and Roll Animal” tour.
Another gem from Reed’s late 1970s Arista Records period. This is the title song from his first album for Arista, 1976’s “Rock and Roll Heart.” Charming, heartfelt, and one of the best “I love rock and roll” songs of all time.
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