I really liked this movie trailer a lot…
…the first time I saw it, when it was this one:
Mar 222012
Feb 122012
An old friend and should-be Townsman passed along this Brian Eno promotional video, which neither of us had seen before. Perhaps it gets us one step closer to uncovering another related Rock ‘n Roll Holy Grail, the full 24-minute, Alfons Sinniger-directed 1974 documentary of Eno & The Winkies playing four songs in the studio. Keep hope alive!
Feb 062012
Mark Metcalf, the actor who played Niedermeyer in Animal House, plays the angry dad at the beginning of Twisted Sister‘s “We’re Not Gonna Take It” video. To me, that’s one of the best big screen feature film-to-music video crossover roles ever. Metcalf carries the crowd-pleasing asshole qualities of his best-known movie role over to the small screen, adding some mainstream credibility to this then-upstart band’s breakout video. Not all established film actors are able to bring so much to their music video work. Take Johnny Depp, for instance.
Surely you remember Depp’s work in Tom Petty‘s “Into the Great Wide Open” video. You do, right? It’s the video in which an already-acclaimed Depp, still years away from believing he was actually his pirate/Keith Richards character, revisits themes from his underappreciated work on 21 Jump Street while playing out scenes from Petty’s version of Bad Company’s “Shooting Star.” Blame it on the script, if you must, but I think Johnny was more interested in going along for the ride, playing the rock star he always wanted to be, and test-driving a Wide Bandana Look that his hairline-challenged rocker friend had been considering, than focusing on his acting chops. In the pantheon of big screen actors appearing in rock music videos Depp’s performance is among the least effective.
So what are the most memorable big screen feature film-to-music video crossover roles ever? What are the flops? Pre-stardom appearances, especially pre-small screen stardom appearances, such as Courtney Cox‘s unparalleled career turn as the cute girl plucked from the audience to dance with Bruce Springsteen, do not count.
Jan 192012
It’s no secret that, like a lot of young teenage boys in the early-to-mid-1970s, I found Carly Simon hot. Although I never cared much for any of her songs beside the outstanding “You’re So Vain” and, OK, I’ll admit it, her duet with James Taylor on “Mockingbird,” there was a sense of anticipation over the release of each new album cover. With her XL smile; sleepy eyes; soft, flowing fabrics; a flexible, acrobatic posture; and a soap operatic personal life Simon was rock’s safe-as-matzo Jewish American Princess. She wasn’t tangled up in that smelly CSNY crowd, like Joni Mitchell. She wasn’t a practitioner of witchcraft, like Stevie Nicks. She made no claims to being “one of the boys,” like Linda Rondstadt. Carly was all woman, more like one of my Mom’s younger waitressing friends than a rock star yet not half as square as a Barbra Streisand, who couldn’t manage an acute angle alongside renegade Kris Kristofferson. For a middle-class boy venturing into the world of sexual longing and rock ‘n roll, she was as pervasive and only mildly daring as a woman’s subscription to Cosmopolitan.
As I got into my later teens and became both more judgmental and daring, the mid-’70s appeal of Carly rapidly diminished. By 1981, when the likes of Debbie Harry and Exene were my maturing notions of rock womanhood, I had no idea the following video ever existed, of a song called “Vengeance,” which thankfully I don’t recall ever hearing. Talk about an ultimate rock soft-on. Let’s examine the moments that would have immediately spelled the end of my young lust for Carly, had I not already been heading in that direction.
In-depth analysis…after the jump!
Nov 282011
You may recall an earlier discussion of the fascinating Ken Russell film Tommy. The controversial director has died at 84. While I find most of his films head-scratchingly badly amusing, his exaggerated, well-lit, creepily sexually charged film bios of music figures probably was highly influential on 1980s music video directors. As we reflect on his well-documented and discussed work on The Who’s rock opera Tommy and review some of his other likely influential works, let’s keep in mind some of the “drop-the-cat” video moments in the heyday of rock music videos that may not have been possible without Russell’s unique vision. And let’s keep in mind this quote from the director, which speaks for the spirit driving even his most laughable efforts—not to mention our own:
“I believe in what I’m doing wholeheartedly, passionately, and what’s more, I simply go about my business,” he wrote. “I suppose such a thing can be annoying to some people.”
I’ve never seen Lisztomania, but I wish I could say I had. I don’t know if I’d have the patience for it today, but I really should have jumped on the opportunity to watch Roger Daltrey acting in another movie. The following scene is just a taste of what I’ve been missing all these years:
Nov 212011
"You had me at Dick Clark as Hitler."
Once a year I try to listen to my lone Devo album, Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! I want to love it. I begin to chuckle over it before I even drop the needle. Once I do, however, musically there’s not enough there for me to care about, no matter how much I try. I inevitably skip ahead to get my requisite laughs out of the song “Jocko Homo” before logging onto YouTube to marvel at their videos. Devo videos are amazing!
As an impressionable college freshman I got into The Residents. I bought Third Reich ‘n Roll and Meet the Residents as soon as I saw the album covers, without ever hearing a note of the band’s music. (Actually, come to think of it, I stole both records before ever hearing a note of the band’s music, but that’s a long story I might have shared once and I will probably share once more in the future…) The Residents’ album covers and concepts are amazing! I dig their “classic” albums enough to actually feel compelled to rank their musical output and cite “turning points” in their development, but without the record covers and overriding concepts, what would be the point of ever listening to The Residents? Without the medium of the 12-inch vinyl album cover could The Residents have ever existed? I don’t think so. What 18-year-old kid is going to log into the iTunes Store to sample and download a Residents album?
I’ve never liked KISS, but I’ve got to give them credit for their visual appeal. Sans makeup and pyrotechnics would KISS have been anything more than a “1-hit wonder” like Brownsville Station?
What artists are you attracted to primarily for their visual appeal, even long after you’ve bought and dug their records?
Previously: Music That’s Better With the Sound Turned Off: Devo…
Aug 012011
I caught this video on VH1 Classic about 4 years ago and, despite the fact that it blew my mind, I forgot everything about the song that would enable me to search for it once I got on the internet. What can I say? It was early in the morning, and I’m really no good until my second cup of coffee. Fortunately, I found it on a blog this morning — after all, lots of people are posting their favorite early-’80s videos in commemoration of MTV’s 30th anniversary.
The intro to this video is weird and goofy and corny as all get out. (Be careful, the first few seconds of this YouTube file are quieter than the rest.) Yet it makes me incredibly happy that it exists, that someone involved in rock ‘n’ roll thought to do this. For those of you who were paying more attention to music (particularly power pop and new wave) back then, had you seen this before? What were your thoughts then? And how about now?
Also, according to Wikipedia, this band was from Atlanta, GA. I call upon jungleland2 to provide any special insight he might have.
I look forward to your responses.
