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“People Who Died” – The Jim Caroll Band

From the terrific 1980 album “Catholic Boy,” this is the late Jim Carroll’s most (in)famous song. I remember a DJ once saying that not many know what this song is, but every time he played it, it would get more calls into the station wanting to know what the song was and who did it than anything else he plaeyd. It is … in my 8-year old son’s immortal words … pretty “epic.” This is one of those songs that should have been a huge hit, but wasn’t. Granted, the lyrics are really f–king grim. But the song is so damn catchy! It shows up frequently on Sirius First Wave, FYI.

Jaw-dropping trivia note: This song was featured in Steven Spielberg’s “E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial.” It’s not particularly prominent, but it’s definitely there when the boys are playing Dungeons and Dragons near the beginning of the film. That … along with the lyrics for Elvis Costello’s “Accidents Will Happen” casually uttered by Elliott’s brother in the scene where he’s raiding the refrigerator … points to the fact that Spielberg may be more of a hipster than most people typically give him credit for.

“Apeman” – The Kinks

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From the 1970 album “Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround Part 1,” is the Kinks’ “Apeman.” I don’t have anything profound to say about “Apeman” other than that I’ve always loved this song. The Kinks created a mild controversy with the line “the air pollution is a-foggin’ up my eyes,” because the way Ray Davies phrased “foggin’,” it sounded like another f-word we all know and love. This looks like a “Top of the Pops” performance … part live, part lip sync. No word yet on when “Lola … Part 2” will ever see the light of day.

“Got to Give it Up” – The Dirtbombs

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Here’s Detroit’s Dirtbombs doing more classic punk soul covers … this time laying down their grungy groove on Marvin Gaye’s “Got to Give it Up.” From the album “Ultraglide in Black.”

“Living for the City” – The Dirtbombs

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Now here’s a concept I can behind … old-school soul done garage punk style. From the now classic punk soul album “Ultraglide in Black,” Detroit’s Dirtbombs do a killer cover of my all-time favorite Stevie Wonder’ song, “Living for the City.” Very, very cool indeed.

“Storybook Love” – WIlly DeVille (with Mark Knopfler) … from “The Princess Bride” (1987)

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Here is one of the best … and admittedly, most bizarre … couplings of the mainstream and the underground. This is the lovely ballad composed for Rob Reiner’s classic 1987 film “The Princess Bride,” written and soulfully sung by punk legend Willy DeVille of the band Mink DeVille. The song was later nominated for an Oscar and seeing Willy on stage crooning this in front of a billion plus viewers during the Academy Awards in 1988 was a very cool kick in the head indeed.

“Keep on Knocking” – Death

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OK, ready to have your mind blown? Ever hear about a Detroit band called Death? Death was a band from the early-mid 1970s that was kicking out high energy punk rock long before the Sex Pistols were and long before punk was even called punk. Here’s the kicker, though … all the members of Death were African-American. Yes, I realize in a better world that shouldn’t be shocking, but it still kind of is. Here was a band in the midst of Motown taking their cues from Alice Cooper, Iggy Pop, and the MC5 and putting their own balls-to-the-wall spin on things.

While you may think “Keep on Knocking” is a really great song, it may not seem particularly significant … except when you consider that this was recorded in 1974 … not 1982 … and was faster and more aggressive than almost anything out at the time. Death attracted the interest of Clive Davis, who wanted to sign the band to Columbia Records … if they’d only change their name. The guitarist and leader, David Hackney, refused to compromise, the band lost their potential deal, and they faded into obscurity … until …

Death’s incredible story is now being told in the terrific documentary “A Band Called Death” (just released on DVD and Blu-Ray) which I’m going to talk about at length at a later date. But in the meantime, here’s a sample of what this completely kick-ass band sounds like and why discovering new music (even when it’s nearly 40 years old) can still bring a huge idiotic grin to your face.

“The Snake” – The Pink Fairies

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More wonderfully nasty early 1970s punk rock … this time from England. Like the Stooges and the MC5 in America during the same era, the Pink Fairies were laying waste to the “good vibes” of other counterculture bands of the era and defining what would eventually be called punk rock many years later. “The Snake” sounds like Jim Morrison fronting the Stooges … but it’s actually so much better than that if you can believe it.

“All Because of You” – Geordie

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Before Brian Johnson took over as lead vocalist for AC/DC for “Back in Black” onward, he was lead singer of this 1970s hard pop group called Geordie. Incredibly crunchy, but also as hooky as any Top 40 hit … that is, when the Top 40 still had a place for hard rock. If you’re a fan of AC/DC, this is worth checking out, not only because it’s a great song, but because it’s interesting to hear Johnson when he had vocal chords … sort of. Even on this pre-AC/DC song, you don’t know whether to continue listening or send Johnson some lozenges stat.

“Citizen Ruth” (1996) dir. Alexander Payne, scr. Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor

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Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor have emerged as America’s leading satirists of middle-class delusion. “Election,” “About Schmidt,” and “Sideways” were all critical (and sometimes) box-office hits roundly deserving of their universal acclaim. However, rarely mentioned is Payne and Taylor’s first film, the wonderfully acidic “Citizen Ruth.”

Ruth Stoops, the titular hero played by Laura Dern, is a drug-addict and petty criminal who finds out she is pregnant during one of her many stints in jail. Given the fact that she’s had four other children (all under foster care or under the care of ex-boyfriends/husbands), a judge offers leniency if she will abort her unborn child. This raises the attention of a local pro-life group called the Baby Savers who bail her out and try to use the judge’s offer as a call to arms for their cause. Through a series of circumstances, she then winds up under the care of a pro-choice group who want her to promote their cause.

Believe it or not, the degenerate Ruth winds up being the character you root for the most in the film. Dern pulls off the impossible in her characterization of Ruth. She manages to be sympathetic while still acting like someone you’d never even remotely think of inviting into your home.

No matter where you stand on the abortion issue, “Citizen Ruth” mercilessly attacks both sides. While I don’t think Payne and Taylor are saying that all pro-life or pro-choice people are like the characters in this film, they illustrate what happens when activists use people as symbols to “send messages” instead of actually doing something to help the people they’re exploiting.

In addition to Dern, the rest of the cast, which includes Kurtwood Smith, Burt Reynolds, Swoosie Kurtz, Kelly Preston, Mary Kay Place, M.C. Gainey, Tippi Hedren, Kenneth Mars, David Graf, and Diane Ladd (Dern’s real-life mom), all deliver terrific career-best performances.

A wonderfully brittle and nasty skewering of an extremely sensitive topic. If you have a brain, a heart, and a very dark sense of humor, you’ll hopefully find this film as hilarious as I did.

“Patti Rocks” (1988) dir. David Burton Morris, scr. John Jenkins, Karen Landry, David Burton Morris, Chris Mulkey

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One of the best indie films from a time when indie truly meant “independent” is the 1988 comedy-drama “Patti Rocks.” The film is about a married blue-collar f–k-up named Billy (played by co-writer Chris Mulkey) who is in a jam when he finds out he has impregnated a girlfriend he has on the side named Patti (played by co-writer … and Mulkey’s wife in real life … Karen Landry). Billy enlists the help of good friend and former employer Eddie (played by co-writer John Jenkins) … with whom there is bad blood … to travel hundreds of miles to meet with Patti and help Billy through his crisis.

During the journey to see Patti (which takes up more than half the film), Billy talks a lot of s–t, not only about Patti, but about pretty much any subject you can think of. Billy is obviously an idiot, but despite the X-rated dialogue and s–t talking, he has the maturity of an 11-year old. Eddie is not too far behind Billy, but is definitely the “adult” of the two. Of course, when we finally meet Patti, she is not how Billy has described her and is far more aware of the dynamics between the two of them than Billy is. The result is a sad and poignant tale of a pathologically dumb man-child who sadly, doesn’t have the sense and maturity to grow up.

“Patti Rocks” was extremely controversial when it was released, because the dialogue was too raw for an “R” rating and went out unrated instead. Though, arguably, had it been a major studio release, the film probably would’ve gotten an “R.” In any case, “Patti Rocks” is a profanely funny and cringe-inducing comedy about male sexuality.

When I finally saw it, it was in college during a sponsored event by the campus Women’s Center. I must say, given the politically correct tenor of the times (late 1980s) and the content of the film, it was a ballsy choice on their part and a nice reminder that sometimes a sense of humor prevails among organizations that stereotypically don’t seem to carry such traits.

Some of the X-rated language and humor the film is controversial for is featured in the attached clip. It is not safe for work or kids.

The film is a sequel of sorts to a mid-1970s film called “Loose Ends” (featuring Billy and Eddie) which I’ve never been able to track down. If you can direct me to this film, I will be eternally grateful.