Forget “Bohemian Rhapsody.” “It’s Late” should be THE Queen song that’s played ad nauseum on classic rock radio. This is pure, balls-to-the-wall, non-campy hard rock that will peel the paint off the walls. That relentless multi-layered lead guitar sound by Brian May feels like a wool sweater in hell. And let’s not forget that cataclysmic drum sound by Roger Taylor that will shake your molars. Totally epic in every sense of the word. Allegedly this was a favorite of Kurt Cobain’s (given its presence in the Kurt Cobain documentary “About a Son”). It was also put to great use in Jody Hill’s brilliantly demented comedy “Observe and Report.” From the 1977 album “News of the World.”
A bitchin’ hard rock cover of the Stones’ apocalyptic classic, this time done by Mitch Ryder’s 1971 band Detroit. The only cover that comes close to matching the intensity of the original. Ryder’s guttural vocals from hell are mucho intense.
It’s taken me several months to catch up with Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained,” but I finally watched it a couple of days ago. My quick response about this film is that I thought it was great, easily of Tarantino’s best films. There are some spoilers below, so if you haven’t seen it and/or don’t want to know what happens, you should probably stop reading. I just can’t talk about this film and my reaction to it without revealing things that happen.
I had a much different reaction to it than I normally would to the usual Tarantino film. With the exception of “Death Proof” (which I liked but didn’t love), Tarantino’s films usually leave me breathless and giddy by the end of them. I remember seeing “Inglourious Basterds” late one night in 2009 and not being able to get to sleep for at least three hours after because I was so wired. However, at the end of “Django Unchained,” I felt shattered and wrung out.
Like “Kill Bill” and “Inglourious Basterds,” “Django Unchained” is a brilliant revenge thriller that takes a while to set up, but the lengthy and compelling set-up explodes in the most astonishing of ways. Yet “Django Unchained” was a lot different and it took me a few days to fully comprehend why I felt the way I did.
Like most Tarantino films, there is a lot of dark humor and humorous violence in “Django Unchained.” But there’s also a lot of horrific violence (the scenes depicting the torture and murder of slaves) as well as much of the dialogue (discussing how subhuman the slaves are by the slaveowners) that’s hard to shake. Please note that this isn’t a criticism of the film. Slavery was an ugly, nasty period of American history and to his credit, Tarantino depicts this part of the story in a non-humorous, non-ironic way.
The movie that it most reminded me of was Sam Peckinpah’s “Straw Dogs.” “Straw Dogs” is a violent revenge film, but it doesn’t play out in the ways you expect or even want a revenge melodrama to take place. Yes, there is a violent revenge taken out against people deserving of it. But it’s done based on a misunderstanding and not for the reasons for why it should be carried out. Setting the story up this way is Peckinpah calling the audience out on their blood lust and making them pay dearly for it.
Yes, I was extremely happy when Jamie Foxx’s Django enacts revenge on a lot of evil people who deserve it. But the set up surrounding it was so terrible to watch, I felt drained and didn’t want to talk to anyone for a long time after it was over. I don’t know if this was Tarantino’s intent, but I would argue that it was. The scenes depicting the torture and murder of slaves are so upsetting, that watching Django enact his revenge doesn’t have the same lift it would have had these scenes not been shown. The revenge violence is less entertaining than sad, even though you don’t feel sorry for the people being blown away. The fact that this is THE most violent and bloody of all of Tarantino’s films overall may be part of a bigger, deeper point.
I believe Tarantino is trying to make the audience come to terms with its own savagery. Because when you laugh ironically at someone’s violent death in a film, it requires a certain amount of dehumanization. Dramatically, I’m not saying this is either good or bad. Nor am I condemning anyone for loving Tarantino’s films. I love Tarantino’s films immensely. But to deny that dehumanization is taking place when you enjoy them, is looking at the films dishonestly. And the juxtaposition the dehumanization of slaves by many of the characters in “Django Unchained” with the dehumanization an audience feels when they enjoy watching someone die onscreen in a graphic way is a painfully meta-textual way of proving a point … and to come to a complex emotional truth about the nature of violent art.
Or maybe not … History may prove me wrong, but I would be willing to bet that “Django Unchained” will be a transitional film in Tarantino’s oeuvre. It will be interesting to see what Tarantino does next and whether he continues viewing the subject of violence in an increasingly complex manner. In any case, “Django Unchained” is an incredibly deep and heavy film in every sense of the word.
Can an interview be art? If there were ever a case to be made for this proposition, I would present Marc Maron’s two-part, nearly two-hour interview with comedian Louis C.K. as Exhibit A.
To say Louis C.K. is one of the most brilliant stand-up comedians of all time is an understatement. Mainly because what Louis C.K. does goes beyond comedy. Louis C.K.’s routines and especially, his groundbreaking TV show “Louis,” go much deeper than mere laughs. Unlike most comedians who are deathly afraid of any moment that strays from comedy, if there’s a dramatically real moment that doesn’t contain a laugh, Louis C.K. lets the drama play out, sans laughter. Granted, comedy is the basis for a lot of this journey. But in the work of Louis C.K., it’s less about the laugh than getting to an emotional truth. Arguably, in this respect, he’s the one of the few comedians who has come close to equaling the brilliance of Richard Pryor.
A brilliant stand-up himself and a lifelong friend of Louis C.K.’s, Maron deeply explores the evolution of Louis C.K.’s comedy and art. Much of the interview is funny, but much of it is also dramatically compelling, especially towards the end, when Maron and Louis C.K. try to resolve the bad blood between them. It’s clear that they are lifelong friends who love each other deeply, but also have a great deal of hurt between them. If you have a dry eye by the end of this, you’re not human.
This interview has become legendary and it’s one of the most fascinating and entertaining looks at the interior life of an artist, guided by someone who obviously cares, respects, and appreciates how this artist developed over several years.
And, if you’re impressed by this interview, you absolutely need to check out Maron’s WTF podcast, widely considered one of the best podcasts of all time. I just discovered Maron through his terrific interview with Howard Stern earlier this week and I’ve spent the last few days catching up with his brilliant podcast. If you like what you hear on this interview, download this two part interview from iTunes. It does cost $3.98, but this is a bargain, considering it’s as good if not better than most movies I’ve seen in the last 10 years. I know I will listen to it for years to come.
Rod Stewart pissed away all of the good will he established in the early 1970s (“Every Picture Tells a Story” is still one of the greatest albums of all time) with increasingly tacky and tasteless (and sadly, more commercially successful) material. “Hot Legs” from 1977 is arguably Rod at his most tacky and tasteless … but this is still a damn good raunchy hard rock song. With the exception of “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” if there was ever song tailor-made for strip clubs, I don’t know what is.
I really love the primitive, early music-video aesthetics at play here in the video, by the way.
This is Lou at his nastiest… this time, hurling his bile at a woman who thought it would be a kick to “slum” and hang with him, but is now running screaming back to her more comfortable life. Rock and rollers have been doing variations on this theme for years. Hell, it was the subject matter of almost EVERY non-cover the Rolling Stones did between 1964 and 1966. But Lou adds some bad language and the kind of venom only a junkie can provide. A nice, malevolent groove. From the 1976 album, “Rock and Roll Heart.”
One of THE best interviews I’ve heard in a long time, if not ever, is Howard Stern’s interview with comedian and podcaster Marc Maron. Maron is getting a lot of attention these days due to a terrific new book that just came out (“Attempting Normal”), a new IFC series (“Maron”), and host of, arguably, one of THE best podcasts of all time (“WTF with Marc Maron”).
Maron’s podcast “WTF” is required listening if you’re a fan of comedy, film, and underground culture as Maron is one of the best interviewers around. So it should come as no surprise that his interview with Howard Stern (another great interviewer) would result in one of the most compelling near-hours I’ve heard in a long time. Maron is quite frank about how his anger and bitterness over the years towards his more successful friends (Jon Stewart and Louis C.K.) burned a lot of bridges personally and professionally. His tales of partying with Sam Kinison back in the day are harrowing and hilarious. Well worth checking out, but lots of bad language so not safe for work.
And if you like what you hear, check out Maron’s podcast, which can be located at the iTunes store or at his website:
From Big Star’s album “Third/Sisters Lovers” album, which was recorded in 1975 but not released until 1978, “Holocaust” is one of those songs you really don’t want to listen to if you’re in a particularly dark mood, especially after a breakup with someone. The song is notorious for being one of the most depressing songs from one of the most depressing albums ever recorded and a departure from the power pop of Big Star’s first two albums. It was later covered by This Mortal Coil on their classic album “It’ll End in Tears.”
I already posted a stellar live acoustic version of this song on Dave’s Strange World. Here’s the awesome original from the 1967 album “Goodbye and Hello.” That unearthly emotional voice, which sounds like he’s seen something unspeakably horrific, always puts a chill up my spine.
Dave's Strange World 