Philippe Pettit describes himself as a funambulist, but he's mostly known as a daredevil tightrope walker. In fact, there's one particular walk that he did that put him in the history books. That walk was also the subject of an Oscar-winning documentary, where he came onstage and made one of my favorite Oscar acceptance moments ever.
But what did he do? Well, I'm going to let someone else tell that story...
These days, he teaches other people to walk tightropes, among other things. The documentary 'Man on Wire' is just one way that he continues to share the story of the 'greatest art crime of the century", whose story has become even more potent as a reminder of a time lost...
Showing posts with label 70's. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 70's. Show all posts
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
July 26
Another request: Dobie Gray, who led me to a musical movement that wasn't created by the musicians, but by their fans.
In the late-60's UK, the Motown sound was making almost as big a splash over there as the Beatles were in the US. As the sounds of soul music began to evolve, a clear line was drawn between the early soul sound that was influencing the mods and the blue-eyed soul scene, and the soul music that was embracing funk, psychedelia, and the politics of the times. While the new soul music was changing, the mod scene wasn't ready to change with it.
That's where the Northern Soul scene comes in: fans of the early sound began scouring their old record collections for undercelebrated songs to celebrate anew. B-sides that came and went in their original release found a new lease on life.
And that's where we pick up the story of Dobie Gray, whose "Out on the Floor" was on his first full=length album in 1965. The song made the British charts in 1975, and it's considered among the top 10 Northern Soul songs.
That 1965 album was a singles collection, brought on by the success of his first hit single "The In Crowd". A Top 20 hit in the US, the song was also adopted in the Mod scene.
But Dobie would have his own musical evolution in the 60's. In the latter half of the 60's, he joined the cast of the Broadway musical 'Hair'. During that time, he was also the lead singer in the band Pollution, most remembered for being managed by the guy who played Jethro on the 'Beverly Hillbillies'.
In 1972, he moved to Nashville and recorded a solo album on the Decca label, working with Mentor Williams, brother of songwriter Paul Williams. From here on, he would perform songs like the soul ballads and gospel tunes that he preferred. These songs would be categorized as 'country rock'. The album's title track was the Mentor Williams written-and-produced track "Drift Away"
Far and away his biggest hit, "Drift Away" carried him to his record label when Decca was swallowed by MCA. He had several singles bubbling under the charts over the next few albums, but no more breakthroughs, and none at his next home, Capricorn Records. He began increasing his efforts at songwriting, penning tunes for George Jones and John Denver. He toured well, particularly in South Africa; he convinced the apartheid goverment to allow him to play for integrated crowds, which was unheard of at the time.
By the 80's, he was recording again - this time, for the country charts.
But "Drift Away" is still the song Dobie Gray's known for, and it's also a great encore. When he re-recorded it as a duet with Uncle Cracker, "Drift Away" did even better the second time around - finally becoming a number 1 hit (and for half a year!), on the AC charts.
So, let's end this with a reprise, because it's a Monday as I write this, and because we all need this feeling, even if we don't listen to the Beach Boys...
Uncle Kracker - Drift Away
Uploaded by AtlanticRecords. - See the latest featured music videos.
In the late-60's UK, the Motown sound was making almost as big a splash over there as the Beatles were in the US. As the sounds of soul music began to evolve, a clear line was drawn between the early soul sound that was influencing the mods and the blue-eyed soul scene, and the soul music that was embracing funk, psychedelia, and the politics of the times. While the new soul music was changing, the mod scene wasn't ready to change with it.
That's where the Northern Soul scene comes in: fans of the early sound began scouring their old record collections for undercelebrated songs to celebrate anew. B-sides that came and went in their original release found a new lease on life.
And that's where we pick up the story of Dobie Gray, whose "Out on the Floor" was on his first full=length album in 1965. The song made the British charts in 1975, and it's considered among the top 10 Northern Soul songs.
That 1965 album was a singles collection, brought on by the success of his first hit single "The In Crowd". A Top 20 hit in the US, the song was also adopted in the Mod scene.
But Dobie would have his own musical evolution in the 60's. In the latter half of the 60's, he joined the cast of the Broadway musical 'Hair'. During that time, he was also the lead singer in the band Pollution, most remembered for being managed by the guy who played Jethro on the 'Beverly Hillbillies'.
In 1972, he moved to Nashville and recorded a solo album on the Decca label, working with Mentor Williams, brother of songwriter Paul Williams. From here on, he would perform songs like the soul ballads and gospel tunes that he preferred. These songs would be categorized as 'country rock'. The album's title track was the Mentor Williams written-and-produced track "Drift Away"
Far and away his biggest hit, "Drift Away" carried him to his record label when Decca was swallowed by MCA. He had several singles bubbling under the charts over the next few albums, but no more breakthroughs, and none at his next home, Capricorn Records. He began increasing his efforts at songwriting, penning tunes for George Jones and John Denver. He toured well, particularly in South Africa; he convinced the apartheid goverment to allow him to play for integrated crowds, which was unheard of at the time.
By the 80's, he was recording again - this time, for the country charts.
But "Drift Away" is still the song Dobie Gray's known for, and it's also a great encore. When he re-recorded it as a duet with Uncle Cracker, "Drift Away" did even better the second time around - finally becoming a number 1 hit (and for half a year!), on the AC charts.
So, let's end this with a reprise, because it's a Monday as I write this, and because we all need this feeling, even if we don't listen to the Beach Boys...
Uncle Kracker - Drift Away
Uploaded by AtlanticRecords. - See the latest featured music videos.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
July 15
The first thing I can say about Millie Jackson is she's NSFW. Hearing Millie do what Millie does best requires that warning, because she 'tells it like it is...'
She's got a fine singing voice, sounding more than a little like Gladys Knight. And she's certainly not the first to sing the kind of soul music that's a long way from Sunday morning. But what really makes her stand out is what she does between the lyrics: maybe it's the breakdown, maybe it's the intro, but there's a moment in her song, on the way to the song, where she starts talking to the audience, shining a light on the hundreds of stories finding shelter within that song... These moments have become her forte.
One of her signature songs, "If Loving You is Wrong", got her two Grammy nominations. "If..." was more successful on the charts for soul singer Luther Ingram, and it was also more successful for country artist Barbara Mandrell. But while she only made it to #42 on the pop charts, her version is the definitive one because she steps aside of the song and redefines it:
Performances like this particularly resonate with a live audience, when the singer strolls up to the song and points to the strings that tie the singer and the people in the crowd to a musical moment, a lyric that speaks a common truth in their lives. Singers like to do this, to get some call-and-response from the audience and sometimes to cover for a quick tech repair or bathroom emergency for one of the other band members. But Millie Jackson really made it an art unto itself.
On the net, she's more legendary for her tasteless album covers. They've become something of a meme for reminiscing about the golden age of vinyl.
As for Ms Jackson, she managed almost 40 R&B singles in the 70's and 80's, 6 in the top 10. She also had a duet with Elton John that was a hit in England, but didn't cross the pond:
She was a drive-time DJ in the Houston area for the following decade. Also in the 90's, she wrote and produced the play "Young Man, Older Woman", which was a hit on the urban theater circuit. Her daughter's also in the music business, singing with Eryka Badu.
She's got a fine singing voice, sounding more than a little like Gladys Knight. And she's certainly not the first to sing the kind of soul music that's a long way from Sunday morning. But what really makes her stand out is what she does between the lyrics: maybe it's the breakdown, maybe it's the intro, but there's a moment in her song, on the way to the song, where she starts talking to the audience, shining a light on the hundreds of stories finding shelter within that song... These moments have become her forte.
One of her signature songs, "If Loving You is Wrong", got her two Grammy nominations. "If..." was more successful on the charts for soul singer Luther Ingram, and it was also more successful for country artist Barbara Mandrell. But while she only made it to #42 on the pop charts, her version is the definitive one because she steps aside of the song and redefines it:
Performances like this particularly resonate with a live audience, when the singer strolls up to the song and points to the strings that tie the singer and the people in the crowd to a musical moment, a lyric that speaks a common truth in their lives. Singers like to do this, to get some call-and-response from the audience and sometimes to cover for a quick tech repair or bathroom emergency for one of the other band members. But Millie Jackson really made it an art unto itself.
On the net, she's more legendary for her tasteless album covers. They've become something of a meme for reminiscing about the golden age of vinyl.
As for Ms Jackson, she managed almost 40 R&B singles in the 70's and 80's, 6 in the top 10. She also had a duet with Elton John that was a hit in England, but didn't cross the pond:
She was a drive-time DJ in the Houston area for the following decade. Also in the 90's, she wrote and produced the play "Young Man, Older Woman", which was a hit on the urban theater circuit. Her daughter's also in the music business, singing with Eryka Badu.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
June 17
Why does Paul Young get an honorary holiday today? Because Wikipedia's got 10 Paul Youngs. And particularly because the Paul Young that comes to mind of the average person on the street is the singer of such hits as "Every Time You Go Away" and "What Becomes of the Broken Hearted." But this is a different Paul Young. Today's Paul Young has had an uphill battle, particularly since he passed away in 2000.
He first made a go of it when he joined the Toggery Five, a British Invasion-era band. Two of the five would eventually join Jethro Tull; Young, meanwhile, would end up struggling for another decade before he would end up at the Sad Cafe, who offered straight-ahead rock songs in the late 70's post-punk era. They put a few songs in the UK charts, before calling it a day in 1981:
By 1983, Young and his family were almost penniless, when he got offered a job as a Mechanic. Genesis guitarist Mike Rutherford suddenly found the time for a solo project, so he began recruiting band members. He needed a proven, talented singer; he chose Paul Carrack. Then he decided he needed another one, and his drummer recommended Young.
Here's my favorite Mike and the Mechanics track, and its epic video:
The success of Mike and the Mechanics was the ultimate turnaround for Young; it even allowed a brief resurrection of Sad Cafe. He died in 2000, shortly after his sixth Mike and the Mechanics album. Jason Young, Paul's son, curates the Forever Young website, offering historical notes and re-release updates on the approximately twenty bands that featured the Paul Young he knew best.
He first made a go of it when he joined the Toggery Five, a British Invasion-era band. Two of the five would eventually join Jethro Tull; Young, meanwhile, would end up struggling for another decade before he would end up at the Sad Cafe, who offered straight-ahead rock songs in the late 70's post-punk era. They put a few songs in the UK charts, before calling it a day in 1981:
By 1983, Young and his family were almost penniless, when he got offered a job as a Mechanic. Genesis guitarist Mike Rutherford suddenly found the time for a solo project, so he began recruiting band members. He needed a proven, talented singer; he chose Paul Carrack. Then he decided he needed another one, and his drummer recommended Young.
Here's my favorite Mike and the Mechanics track, and its epic video:
The success of Mike and the Mechanics was the ultimate turnaround for Young; it even allowed a brief resurrection of Sad Cafe. He died in 2000, shortly after his sixth Mike and the Mechanics album. Jason Young, Paul's son, curates the Forever Young website, offering historical notes and re-release updates on the approximately twenty bands that featured the Paul Young he knew best.
June 16
Today's undercelebrated celebrity is that soft-rock Samson, Gino Vannelli. He's an Italian-Canadian that hit the charts on the 70's/80's border, with songs like "People Gotta Move", "I Just Wanna Stop", and "Living Inside Myself". If you had a dentist appointment in the 80's, you heard this song:
So, how the heck did Michael Bolton steal this guy's career? It wasn't the U.S. music industry that turned its back on Vannelli; Vannelli turned his back on the chart machine. When he signed with A&M in the 70's, he was a 21-year old genius singer/songwriter, using his three-octave vocal range and his brother's experimentation with a new technology called the synthesizer to take over the charts and make his TV debut on the most un-Canadian of TV programs, Soul Train. When his record label wanted a disco album, he jumped labels, held fast to his yacht rock-ish sound, and went higher up the charts. He even did the theme for a James Bond film:
He kept label hopping through the 80's, which may account for his lack of traction. Although he was still making signature 80's music, Vanelli was finding more success in Canada and Europe. By the end of the decade, he was married, touring the world, and giving up on the music industry almost entirely.
Since then, he's been walking his own path: starting his own label in the 90's, recording jazz albums, then operatic albums that got him invited to perform for the Pope...
He still has a North American following, enough for a series of sold-out Katrina benefits and a blockbuster Vegas run a few years back.
Apparently, he's still taking second billing to his hair, too...
So, how the heck did Michael Bolton steal this guy's career? It wasn't the U.S. music industry that turned its back on Vannelli; Vannelli turned his back on the chart machine. When he signed with A&M in the 70's, he was a 21-year old genius singer/songwriter, using his three-octave vocal range and his brother's experimentation with a new technology called the synthesizer to take over the charts and make his TV debut on the most un-Canadian of TV programs, Soul Train. When his record label wanted a disco album, he jumped labels, held fast to his yacht rock-ish sound, and went higher up the charts. He even did the theme for a James Bond film:
He kept label hopping through the 80's, which may account for his lack of traction. Although he was still making signature 80's music, Vanelli was finding more success in Canada and Europe. By the end of the decade, he was married, touring the world, and giving up on the music industry almost entirely.
Since then, he's been walking his own path: starting his own label in the 90's, recording jazz albums, then operatic albums that got him invited to perform for the Pope...
He still has a North American following, enough for a series of sold-out Katrina benefits and a blockbuster Vegas run a few years back.
Apparently, he's still taking second billing to his hair, too...
Monday, May 31, 2010
May 31
Been a while since I did a twofer, but it's easy when they're in the same band. First, happy birthday to Karl Bartos, formerly of Kraftwerk. You can hear the echoes of their music in everybody from Depeche Mode and Nine Inch Nails to T-Pain and Blue Man Group. Plus, anybody who uses an electronic keyboard.
Here's a Top of the Pops clip, with a great encapsulation about the band's style and mission:
The trippiest part for me is, "Autobahn" was inspired by the Beach Boys. One of the vocalists said that the Beach Boys made music that sounded like California, and Kraftwerk wanted to make music that sounded like Germany.
Regarding Karl Bartos, he joined Kraftwerk for the Autobahn tour; he's now part of the classic, electro-pop lineup that would become the global face of Kraftwerk. He played and toured with Kraftwerk through the 70's and 80's. In 1991, he left to collaborate with other artists, and released his own album in 2003.
Kraftwerk entered a new phase in the 90's with a new lineup - including birthday boy Fritz Hilpert (he actually joined the band before Karl left, but it's an undeniable transition.) The emphasis since the 90's has been on live performances, although the technology has streamlined to the point that there's minimal exertion required for performing the music, and more concentration on the presentation (exactly why Bartos left.)
That's not to say the people in Kraftwerk have become irrelevant in a Kraftwerk show; in fact, Hilpert fell ill on an Australian stop in 2008, cancelling the night's show and threatening the tour.
Since 2008, only one founding member remains in Kraftwerk. They still do festival shows, and they've been re-mastering and re-releasing the discography, but no word about new music yet. Then again, they've been traditionally reclusive, so there's no telling when Kraftwerk's latest sound will emerge.
Here's a Top of the Pops clip, with a great encapsulation about the band's style and mission:
The trippiest part for me is, "Autobahn" was inspired by the Beach Boys. One of the vocalists said that the Beach Boys made music that sounded like California, and Kraftwerk wanted to make music that sounded like Germany.
Regarding Karl Bartos, he joined Kraftwerk for the Autobahn tour; he's now part of the classic, electro-pop lineup that would become the global face of Kraftwerk. He played and toured with Kraftwerk through the 70's and 80's. In 1991, he left to collaborate with other artists, and released his own album in 2003.
Kraftwerk entered a new phase in the 90's with a new lineup - including birthday boy Fritz Hilpert (he actually joined the band before Karl left, but it's an undeniable transition.) The emphasis since the 90's has been on live performances, although the technology has streamlined to the point that there's minimal exertion required for performing the music, and more concentration on the presentation (exactly why Bartos left.)
That's not to say the people in Kraftwerk have become irrelevant in a Kraftwerk show; in fact, Hilpert fell ill on an Australian stop in 2008, cancelling the night's show and threatening the tour.
Since 2008, only one founding member remains in Kraftwerk. They still do festival shows, and they've been re-mastering and re-releasing the discography, but no word about new music yet. Then again, they've been traditionally reclusive, so there's no telling when Kraftwerk's latest sound will emerge.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
May 28
Happy Birthday, Patricia Quinn, Lady Stephens... her proper name, from her knighted husband. In Great Britain, she's been a TV regular for decades, guest starring on such BBC mainstays as "I, Claudius," "Minder," and "Dr Who". She's stayed just as active on the West End stage, with a career just shy of 40 years. Her second most memorable performance might be as Mrs Williams, the Sex Ed Instructor's wife in "Monty Python's The Meaning of Life."
As to the first... First, let me mention that Lady Patricia is a former Playboy Bunny; not one of the magazine models, but a former floppy-ears-and-corset wearing employee of the Playboy Clubs, back when they were world-wide and top of the line. Even today, she's a stunner of a redhead; she looks like Susan Sarandon, but with well-rested eyes.
And then, there are the lips...
Lady Patricia's lips are among the most celebrated and adulated in cinematic history (sorry, Angelina.) Let's clear up about "Science Fiction Double Feature": the movie opening has Richard O'Brien's voice, but it's Lady Patricia's lips mouthing them, drawing the audience in. She actually sang the opening in the original stage production, but the movie producers preferred O'Brien's less vampy version.
Since I never turn down an opportunity to share some Rocky Horror:
As to the first... First, let me mention that Lady Patricia is a former Playboy Bunny; not one of the magazine models, but a former floppy-ears-and-corset wearing employee of the Playboy Clubs, back when they were world-wide and top of the line. Even today, she's a stunner of a redhead; she looks like Susan Sarandon, but with well-rested eyes.
And then, there are the lips...
Lady Patricia's lips are among the most celebrated and adulated in cinematic history (sorry, Angelina.) Let's clear up about "Science Fiction Double Feature": the movie opening has Richard O'Brien's voice, but it's Lady Patricia's lips mouthing them, drawing the audience in. She actually sang the opening in the original stage production, but the movie producers preferred O'Brien's less vampy version.
Since I never turn down an opportunity to share some Rocky Horror:
Monday, May 24, 2010
May 24
Happy Birthday to "Little Nell" Campbell, the girl with the tap shoes, the Betty Boop voice, and a BLT. She's an automatic guest on the blog, due to her ubiquitous turn as "Columbia" in the many iterations of the Rocky Horror (Picture) Show. But there's more to her than that...
"Rocky Horror" led to a recording contract for Little Nell; her biggest single, "Do The Swim", benefited from a notorious performance on the BBC (that BLT, again...) She also spent some time on Broadway in various productions.
But her biggest mark was Nell's, one of three New York nightclubs she ran in the 80's and 90's. Nell's picked up where Studio 54 left off; in fact, Notorious BIG filmed his "Big Poppa" video there. (It also happened to be Patrick Bateman's favorite nightclub.)
Around the age of 45, she became a mother, and got out of the nightclub business. She continued working in show business until a few years ago, and got out of New York altogether. She's retired and raising her daughter in her homeland of Australia.
But we'll always have the music (and the boop-oop-eedoop...)
"Rocky Horror" led to a recording contract for Little Nell; her biggest single, "Do The Swim", benefited from a notorious performance on the BBC (that BLT, again...) She also spent some time on Broadway in various productions.
But her biggest mark was Nell's, one of three New York nightclubs she ran in the 80's and 90's. Nell's picked up where Studio 54 left off; in fact, Notorious BIG filmed his "Big Poppa" video there. (It also happened to be Patrick Bateman's favorite nightclub.)
Around the age of 45, she became a mother, and got out of the nightclub business. She continued working in show business until a few years ago, and got out of New York altogether. She's retired and raising her daughter in her homeland of Australia.
But we'll always have the music (and the boop-oop-eedoop...)
Sunday, April 25, 2010
April 25
I was researching Steve Ferrone for today's blog, and ended up answering one of the most nagging questions I've had the past eighteen months: what is the name of this song?
I'd been hearing "Pick Up the Pieces" on the local oldies station for months, although they'd given up on human deejays, so I never knew what the song was actually called. I'd given up ever finding out, and was resorting to "Theme Song for Public Broadcast Show at 5:30 in the Morning." Radio, bring back the deejays!
Anyway, Ferrone joined the Average White Band after this million seller was recorded, replacing their deceased drummer. He would end up seeing the band through the rest of the 70's, and the rest of their time on the charts.
After AWB, Ferrone did session work and was a hired gun for bands like Duran Duran and Scritti Politti. In 1994, Ferrone formally joined Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, which are still going strong with a tour and new album in 2010. Rock on, Ferrone...
I'd been hearing "Pick Up the Pieces" on the local oldies station for months, although they'd given up on human deejays, so I never knew what the song was actually called. I'd given up ever finding out, and was resorting to "Theme Song for Public Broadcast Show at 5:30 in the Morning." Radio, bring back the deejays!
Anyway, Ferrone joined the Average White Band after this million seller was recorded, replacing their deceased drummer. He would end up seeing the band through the rest of the 70's, and the rest of their time on the charts.
After AWB, Ferrone did session work and was a hired gun for bands like Duran Duran and Scritti Politti. In 1994, Ferrone formally joined Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, which are still going strong with a tour and new album in 2010. Rock on, Ferrone...
Thursday, April 22, 2010
April 23
Since I'm writing from the heart of Kentucky, let me write about a local boy done good: Lee Majors. He was raised in Middleboro (southeast corner of the state) and graduated from Eastern Kentucky University (in Richmond, half hour from me.) His star shined brightest on TV: Big Valley, Six Million Dollar Man, Fall Guy... But one of his movies provides a real-life ghost story in my neighborhood. The 1979 film Steel featured scenes shot at the construction site of today's Kincaid Towers (Central Bank's HQ). They redid the opening high fall so stuntman AJ Bakunus could regain the world record title from a rival. At the reshoot, there was a failure with the airbag landing, and the stuntman died. There are whispers that since the building's completion, the spirit of the stuntman haunts the upper floors.
Enough ghost stories; it's Lee's day! Here's the theme to the Fall Guy, sung by the man himself:
Enough ghost stories; it's Lee's day! Here's the theme to the Fall Guy, sung by the man himself:
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
April 20
There are too many people to write about today, particularly of the crazy, intent-on-world-domination types. But the winner of today's birthday brawl is Bjorn Skifs, lead singer of Blue Swede, among other things. His music career has lasted over 35 years, and he represented his homeland in Eurovision Song Contest twice. He's even got a hearty film resume, between his acting and screenwriting credits.
But to English speaking audiences, if he's anything at all, he's the guy who sings with that "ooga-chaka" band. Blue Swede's version of the standard "Hooked on a Feeling" was a number 1 hit in its mid-70's release, and a hipster revival when it appeared in the Reservoir Dogs soundtrack.
You don't remember how the song goes? It's like this:
But to English speaking audiences, if he's anything at all, he's the guy who sings with that "ooga-chaka" band. Blue Swede's version of the standard "Hooked on a Feeling" was a number 1 hit in its mid-70's release, and a hipster revival when it appeared in the Reservoir Dogs soundtrack.
You don't remember how the song goes? It's like this:
Sunday, April 18, 2010
April 19
Happy Birthday, Tim Curry! I know that I started this blog for the under-recognized, but Rocky Horror trumps that. But he's more than Dr Frank N Furter: he's got an armada of villainous roles to inspire a dozen cults. Pennywise from Stephen King's It, Legend's Lord of Darkness, Fern Gully, Muppet Treasure Island, Congo, Annie, the McHale's Navy movie, Captain Planet and the Planeteers... he was even Tim Burton's second choice for the Joker.
But we're not going to go on about that. And we're not going to talk about Nigel Thornberry or King Arthur, either (beyond this sentence.) No, we're going to spotlight his brief tenure as a rock star!
He recorded three albums with A & M, with one foot in the Lou Reed/Warren Zevon sound and another still on the West End stage. The sound didn't quite connect with audiences, although his second album did get some play on early MTV. 1981 was his third strike, and he was out, which is fine for movie fans.
In 2010, "...From the Vaults" was released, featuring several songs Tim Curry recorded in 1976 for Ode Records, a label started by Rocky Horror producer Lou Adler. That album never materialized, with only a few songs floating around in bootlegs over the decades.
Speaking of bootlegs, here's a clip from a 1978 concert featuring Tim performing Frank N Furter's signature ballad.
Still looks better than a cameraphone...
But we're not going to go on about that. And we're not going to talk about Nigel Thornberry or King Arthur, either (beyond this sentence.) No, we're going to spotlight his brief tenure as a rock star!
He recorded three albums with A & M, with one foot in the Lou Reed/Warren Zevon sound and another still on the West End stage. The sound didn't quite connect with audiences, although his second album did get some play on early MTV. 1981 was his third strike, and he was out, which is fine for movie fans.
In 2010, "...From the Vaults" was released, featuring several songs Tim Curry recorded in 1976 for Ode Records, a label started by Rocky Horror producer Lou Adler. That album never materialized, with only a few songs floating around in bootlegs over the decades.
Speaking of bootlegs, here's a clip from a 1978 concert featuring Tim performing Frank N Furter's signature ballad.
Still looks better than a cameraphone...
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
April 15
This one's a discovery for me, so I'm sorry not to offer any insights to Tonio K fans that visit this site via Google. He's often described as America's answer to Elvis Costello and Johnny Rotten, and I can hear that in the tracks I found. He made several albums in the post-punk era that won over critics but not crowds. He found more success as a songwriter (his biggest credit was co-writing the Vanessa Williams hit "Love Is"; he said he wrote it for Tom Waits' voice.) But I can't tell if he's done these days or sitting on a bed of songs. Heck, he just got a Myspace page in 2009, and even that's through an intermeidary.
All I know is, I'd like to hear more of this:
All I know is, I'd like to hear more of this:
Thursday, April 1, 2010
April 1
I'm feeling low tide, so it feels good to hear reggae icon Jimmy Cliff. He's another 2010 inductee in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame; if you want to know why, check out the movie "The Harder They Come". Or just check out the soundtrack. Need another reason? Find Cliff's song "Vietnam", which Bob Dylan called the best protest song that he had ever heard.
As for me, today calls for "Many Rivers to Cross", one of his most covered compositions, although nobody sings it better than him.
Here's a performance, with Jools Holland on piano.
As for me, today calls for "Many Rivers to Cross", one of his most covered compositions, although nobody sings it better than him.
Here's a performance, with Jools Holland on piano.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
March 29
Happy Birthday to Terry Jacks, one-hit wonder with 1973's "Seasons in the Sun". An adaptation of a Jacques Brel song, "Seasons" was originally arranged for the Beach Boys, but when the band declined to record it, record producer Jacks and his (soon-to-be-ex) wife decided to record and release the song on his own label. The song became an international sensation, topping the charts in the US, Canada, and the UK.
The song is about a dying man offering farewells to friends and family (the French version is more sardonic). When you consider that he was dealing with the dissolution of his marriage and musical partnership, you wonder if those feelings informed his performance.
And you also have to wonder if his sideburns inspired the creators of Wolverine and Sabretooth.
The song is about a dying man offering farewells to friends and family (the French version is more sardonic). When you consider that he was dealing with the dissolution of his marriage and musical partnership, you wonder if those feelings informed his performance.
And you also have to wonder if his sideburns inspired the creators of Wolverine and Sabretooth.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
March 23
I'm writing about Kevin Paul Godfrey, a.k.a. Epic Soundtracks, the British drummer who co-founded the Swell Maps with his brother, Nikki Sudden, in the late 70's. The Swell Maps first made waves in the wake of the Punk revolution, but their reputation is built more on who came after: Wire, Sonic Youth, lo-fi... Heck, before yesterday, I would have thought "Heard About Seymour" was an Artic Monkeys cover:
The Swell Maps rocked until 1980; Epic continued recording solo and collaborative stuff until he died in his sleep in 1997. His brother (who himself passed away in 2006) maintains that Epic died from a broken heart.
He was getting props from 90's alt-rock cogniscenti when his first solo album came out (he got assists from guys from Dinosaur Jr, The Lemonheads, Sonic Youth, The Waterboys...) But I haven't found any clips of his songs online. So here's another Swell Maps track for ya:
The Swell Maps rocked until 1980; Epic continued recording solo and collaborative stuff until he died in his sleep in 1997. His brother (who himself passed away in 2006) maintains that Epic died from a broken heart.
He was getting props from 90's alt-rock cogniscenti when his first solo album came out (he got assists from guys from Dinosaur Jr, The Lemonheads, Sonic Youth, The Waterboys...) But I haven't found any clips of his songs online. So here's another Swell Maps track for ya:
Saturday, March 20, 2010
March 21
Two for two on the treasure clips; Vivian Stanhall was born today, so I have an excuse to talk about the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, along with a classic video in my mind, from my years watching Night Flight until dawn:
Friday, March 5, 2010
March 5
So why was Piero Paulo Pasolini murdered? He frustrated the powers that be in Italy for his pro-communist, anti-consumerist views, he frustrated the church for his athiest and homosexual artistic works, he frustrated the communists for his sympathies with the policemen (who were, in his view, lower-class soldiers fighting battles they didn't understand against upper-class-bred intellectual communists; see why he might consider that a contradiction?) and he frustrated certain political elements with his implications about the prevalence of organized crime in national politics (his final, unfinished novel is a story about a 'white coup')
So he had plenty of enemies, and he didn't run himself over with his own car several times. But he had enough supporters who didn't believe that Pasolini was killed because of a badly negotiated sex transaction, even before the hustler's confession was retracted. But who? The mob? The Vatican? The government? Really pro-active film critics?
Actually, it's his films that I know, his films that have the most global reknown. On one end of the spectrum, there's his Gospel According to St Matthew, nominated for three Academy Awards and still considered one of the most best cinematic tellings of Christ's life ever made (yes, he was an atheist at the time of production.) On the other end of the spectrum, his final film, an extremely vivid and politicized adaption of the Marquis De Sade's 120 Days of Sodom, is still banned several countries to this day. In fact, Pasolini's murder happened before the global release of Salo, implicating the film as another possible motive for his murder.
While I'm not about to post Salo on here, I found a short film (music video, kinda) he directed for a collection, about the discarding of two marrionettes. It has all the Pasolini strengths: arresting images, bizzare juxtapositions, fanfare for the common man, ending that's 90% bummer, 10% uplift:
And now for something completely different: here's some English intellectuals, distilling the peculiarities of Pasolini in their own medium:
So he had plenty of enemies, and he didn't run himself over with his own car several times. But he had enough supporters who didn't believe that Pasolini was killed because of a badly negotiated sex transaction, even before the hustler's confession was retracted. But who? The mob? The Vatican? The government? Really pro-active film critics?
Actually, it's his films that I know, his films that have the most global reknown. On one end of the spectrum, there's his Gospel According to St Matthew, nominated for three Academy Awards and still considered one of the most best cinematic tellings of Christ's life ever made (yes, he was an atheist at the time of production.) On the other end of the spectrum, his final film, an extremely vivid and politicized adaption of the Marquis De Sade's 120 Days of Sodom, is still banned several countries to this day. In fact, Pasolini's murder happened before the global release of Salo, implicating the film as another possible motive for his murder.
While I'm not about to post Salo on here, I found a short film (music video, kinda) he directed for a collection, about the discarding of two marrionettes. It has all the Pasolini strengths: arresting images, bizzare juxtapositions, fanfare for the common man, ending that's 90% bummer, 10% uplift:
And now for something completely different: here's some English intellectuals, distilling the peculiarities of Pasolini in their own medium:
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
February 24
I thought I was going to offer up a video of "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)" in observance of Rupert Holmes birthday, but I just can't. Not because of the song; it's such a great, witty-yet-schmaltzy song that I just can't leave it off my playlist. It's a karaoke must. I assumed that "Escape" was all there was to Rupert's story. Boy, was I wrong.
That's because he's not a mere musician in a cardigan; he's a writer. He wrote songs for all kinds of musical acts in the 70's and 80's (remember that song "You Got It All" by the Jets? Britney Spears?) He won an armful of Tony awards for his first musical, based on the final and unfinished novel of Charles Dickens, which started his playwright career that's still in high gear 25 years later. He's also an Edgar-award winning mystery novelist, and the movie based on his first novel("Where the Truth Lies") won the Canadian Oscar. He even created an Emmy-award winning series, "Remember WENN".
Meanwhile, he's got a love-hate relationship with the song that consumed his recording career. (He doesn't even like pina coladas; says they taste like Kaopectate.) After "Escape" became the only song to go to #1 in the 70's and the 80's, people stopped paying attention to his Randy Newman-esque lyrics, and kept waiting for another round of songs about mixed drinks or something. This frustrated Rupert to the point that he quit making records to concentrate on theater and everything else.
No, the song that best encapsulates Rupert Holmes' career is "Timothy," a one-hit wonder recorded by the Buoys in 1971, and a Stephen King fave. The Buoys were an up-and-coming band who managed to sign a record contract - for one single, with no budget for publicity. Holmes figured a song so controversial that radio stations would start banning it would be great publicity, and he wrote the song "Timothy" for just that purpose.
The song was a slow starter. Then, like clockwork, people started figuring out the song's subject matter, and clamored for it; radio stations started banning it; competing radio stations would play it; the song made its way to #17 on the charts; the label signed the band to a full-album contract.
The Buoys never recovered from the success of "Timothy"; besides a song that got big in Europe, they never hit the charts again until their breakup in 1985. "Timothy", meanwhile, was the lightning bolt that began Rupert Holmes' recording career, until it was eclipsed by "Escape."
A final thought: does Tarantino know about this song?
That's because he's not a mere musician in a cardigan; he's a writer. He wrote songs for all kinds of musical acts in the 70's and 80's (remember that song "You Got It All" by the Jets? Britney Spears?) He won an armful of Tony awards for his first musical, based on the final and unfinished novel of Charles Dickens, which started his playwright career that's still in high gear 25 years later. He's also an Edgar-award winning mystery novelist, and the movie based on his first novel("Where the Truth Lies") won the Canadian Oscar. He even created an Emmy-award winning series, "Remember WENN".
Meanwhile, he's got a love-hate relationship with the song that consumed his recording career. (He doesn't even like pina coladas; says they taste like Kaopectate.) After "Escape" became the only song to go to #1 in the 70's and the 80's, people stopped paying attention to his Randy Newman-esque lyrics, and kept waiting for another round of songs about mixed drinks or something. This frustrated Rupert to the point that he quit making records to concentrate on theater and everything else.
No, the song that best encapsulates Rupert Holmes' career is "Timothy," a one-hit wonder recorded by the Buoys in 1971, and a Stephen King fave. The Buoys were an up-and-coming band who managed to sign a record contract - for one single, with no budget for publicity. Holmes figured a song so controversial that radio stations would start banning it would be great publicity, and he wrote the song "Timothy" for just that purpose.
The song was a slow starter. Then, like clockwork, people started figuring out the song's subject matter, and clamored for it; radio stations started banning it; competing radio stations would play it; the song made its way to #17 on the charts; the label signed the band to a full-album contract.
The Buoys never recovered from the success of "Timothy"; besides a song that got big in Europe, they never hit the charts again until their breakup in 1985. "Timothy", meanwhile, was the lightning bolt that began Rupert Holmes' recording career, until it was eclipsed by "Escape."
A final thought: does Tarantino know about this song?
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
February 16
Happy Birthday to an icon three times over, LeVar Burton. Whether you know him as Kunta Kinte, you adore him as Geordi LaForge, or you simply owe your literacy to him, he's brought a lot of good karma to the world. So, you can send him a message to his personal web site. Or, you can just sing along with this tribute from Rhett and Link:
Of course, if you're not a fan, you can read this op-ed in the Onion. And pretend it's real.
Of course, if you're not a fan, you can read this op-ed in the Onion. And pretend it's real.
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