Oh, For Fuckssake Already REPUBLICANS PLEASE STOP USING ROCK SONGS FOR YOUR CAMPAIGNS!!!

I mentioned it the other day, but here's a nice encapsulation of the long history of musicians asking politicians to please stop playing their music:

It’s occurred essentially every cycle at least since Ronald Reagan used “Born in the U.S.A.,” much to Bruce Springsteen’s dissatisfaction, in 1984.

1. Springsteen objected to Reagan’s use of the song “Born in the U.S.A.” during the 1984 election.
2. Reagan also got dinged in 1984 by John Cougar Mellencamp for “Pink Houses.”
3. Bobby McFerrin objected to George H.W. Bush using the song “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” in 1988.
4. Sam & Dave objected to Bob Dole using the song “Soul Man” in 1996.
5. Springsteen objected to Dole using “Born in the U.S.A.” in 1996.
6. Mellencamp didn’t grant any more leeway to George W. Bush than to Reagan. Mellencamp complained when Bush used “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.” in 2000.
7. Tom Petty objected to Bush using the song “I Won’t Back Down” in 2000.
8. That same election, Sting objected to Bush using “Brand New Day.”
9. In a rare bit of bipartisanship in 2000, Sting also objected to Al Gore using “Brand New Day.”
10. John Hall of the band Orleans objected to Bush using the song “Still the One” during his re-election campaign in 2004.
11. Boston objected to Mike Huckabee using “More Than a Feeling” in 2008.
12. Van Halen objected to John McCain using “Right Now” in 2008.
13. Mellencamp is back! He complained about McCain using “Our Country” in 2008.
14. In the same election, Mellencamp had a problem with McCain using the song “Pink Houses.”
15. Heart objected to McCain using “Barracuda.”
16. Jackson Browne objected to McCain using “Running on Empty.”
17. Bon Jovi objected to McCain using “Who Says You Can’t Go Home.”
18. The Foo Fighters stopped McCain from playing “My Hero.”
19. Tom Petty objected to McCain using “I Won’t Back Down.”
20. ABBA complained about McCain using “Take a Chance on Me.”
21. Sam Moore of Sam & Dave objected to Barack Obama using “Hold On, I’m Coming” during the 2008 election.
22. Survivor objected to Newt Gingrich using the song “Eye of the Tiger” in 2012.
23. Gingrich also was dinged by The Heavy for “How You Like Me Now.”
24. Also in 2012, Dee Snider of Twisted Sister objected to Mitt Romney using “We’re Not Gonna Take It.”
25. Silversun Pickups stopped Romney from playing “Panic Switch.”
26. K’Naan objected to Romney using the song “Wavin’ Flag.”
27. Survivor objected to Romney using “Eye of the Tiger.”
28. Tom Petty complained about Michele Bachmann using “American Girl” in 2012.
29. Katrina and the Waves objected to Bachmann playing “Walking on Sunshine.”
30. And finally, now we have Young’s complaint about Trump’s use of “Rockin’ in the Free World.”

My Old Neighborhood

All the way back in 1993, Bill Maher mentioned Williamsburg before it was Williamsburg (scroll to the 5:20 mark)

TV Show Idea

Friday Night Lights sequel chronicling the season of the Dillon Panthers basketball team.

Clear eyes.
Full hearts.
Who gives a shit?

I'm Right du Jour

I'll say this: pretty sure nobody ever has been disappointed with the words "tonight is taco night".

Question du Jour

Are Vince Vaughn characters ever not from Chicago? #truedetective

Dear Dtupid Website

It's not:

The set, from Rhino, includes Sorry Ma, I Forgot to Take Out the Garbage

Oh, for fuck's sake.

Thoughts. I Have Them.

I've been re-watching Friday Night Lights for the first time in a while, and I think:

1. Buddy Garrity is even more likeable than I remembered.
2. The actor who played Smash hopefully won an award for his last season work. Unreal.
3. Coach lies to Mrs. Coach way more than I remembered.

Clear eyes.
Full hearts.
Oh look, Riggins is wasted.

Newest Favorite T-Shirts!

#onlyfoolsandhorses

Thoughts. I Have Them.

Re-watching Friday Night Lights for the first time in a while, I'm struck by the realization "heeeeey wait a minute - where's my Riggins Boys spin-off?!?!!?"

Unfortunate Sons

Anyone else getting the sneaking suspicion that we're still hanging around with these wars in Afghanistan and Iraq cause we're waiting for a good soundtrack to accompany them? I mean, look at any movie about Vietnam. Great soundtrack, right? Every one, you got CCR, you got Gimme Some Loving, you got the Stones, you got Motown and on and on and on. Not only is this music of it's time, and INCREDIBLE music, but it's what people were actually listening to on a grand scale at the time. Meanwhile, what music will be in Iraq movies? 50 Cent? Avril Lavigne? Weezer? Pop music is so splintered there's no big music to attach to such large events as a war. Ironically, pop culture in general is no longer popular enough to define our culture.

So if Obama is waiting for these wars' CCR, I got news for him: give it up.- XMASTIME

Here's 5 SONGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW WERE ABOUT THE VIETNAM WAR. I'll be honest: I had no idea Last Train to Clarksville would be on this list.

The Supreme Court Hates America, When Jesus and His Scrappy, Loveable Sidekick Baby Jesus Come Back They're Gonna Be PISSED.

Been Stuck In My Head for Over 20 Years

HERE WE GO AGAIN

Found it on some random cassette I picked up in San Antonio, TX, in 1992...claimed to be the Pistols but if I recall correctly, it's only Paul Cook and Steve Jones. No idea who's singing. Superslice.

Blackout, Blackin, Let Me Begin

 The NYC blackout of 2003 was 10 years ago today. It's one of the events I'll always remember re: the uniqueness of the place and how it seemed to bring everybody together - still does, really.

I've decided that the people from the 1977 blackout could pretty much beat the shit out of us from the 2003 one. I mean, those dudes were looting and raping and burnt down Bushwick while having to worry about the Son of Sam capping them. In 2003 we all got drunk off free beer from the bars ("it'll go bad in the taps; drink! no ice, drink!") and free food from the bodegas ("the food will spoil! eat! eat!") I'm surprised Bloomberg didn't pass out free kittens to all of us for being such great, orderly citizens. What a bunch of pussies. Maybe we are heading back towards a more 1950's NYC. A time, as The Barber once said, "When Whites Ruled Brooklyn."- XMASTIME

Looking forward to the upcoming PBS documentary on the 1977 blackout.

Exclusive Clip of 1977 Blackout Documentary... by Gothamist

Thoughts. I Have Them.

Listening to Elon Musk talk is intoxicating; his speaking voice is suspiciously like Richard Thompson's.

(NOTE: wtf are the other two losers onstage doing?)

It's Always Seinfeld in Philadelphia

With everyone going nuts over Seinfeld now streaming on Hulu, Time points out that it's natural successor has been around for 10 years now:

Regardless of the hardware discrepancy, the two shows share an uncommon lack of reliance on premise. Of course there’s always a premise of some sort in each episode, but for both shows, it’s really just an excuse to have the main characters interact with one another and the boundless collection of weirdos that have a habit of wandering in and out of their lives. And despite a 294 combined episodes for the two series, nothing ever really changed in either one. Other sitcoms have marriages and children and at least some small semblance of growth, but Seinfeld and Sunny instead turned those tropes on their heads, creating long build-ups to nothing. Sure, George got engaged, but Susan was dead before they could tie the knot because she licked too many toxic envelopes. Sweet Dee (Olson Olson) spent an entire season pregnant but the baby disappeared, never too be heard from again, as soon as Olson had the child that compelled the on-screen pregnancy in the first place. Both shows relished an opportunity to paint themselves into an inescapable corner and then wriggle their way out of it in the most absurd way possible.

Also, both shows had a singular character who stands in the pantheon of great sitcom characters, both of whom you can't wait to come onscreen every episode.

"Hey Look, Buddy...

...we can do this the hard way or the easy way - buy some Thin Mints or I'll maul you in your home. Your choice." #grizzlygoddaughter

A Few Thoughts on the Confederate Flag Issue Today

1. It's too bad it took something like the Charleston shootings to make people think you know, maybe we shouldn't put these symbols of hatred & evil anywhere we can find a flagpole/shot glass.

2. It's easy to forget that besides its racial implications, the flag symbolizes a side who fought against the United States; in other words, committed treason.

3. And yet these are among the most vociferous of all people who claim to "love America!"

4. Why is it so hard for these people to give up this symbol? It was a 150 years ago - it's not as if anybody alive today fought under it. You can't fly the Nazi flag in Germany, and that happened within many people's lifetimes who are still alive. It just seems to be something people grow up hearing over and over that it stands for Southern pride, when it actually stands for racism, treason and, yes, losing. Is there any other instance in human history in which the losers cling so tightly to their loss?

"But this imaginary hoagie tastes sooooooooo good!!"

In Case You Were Worried About Me...

... yes, I'm finally watching Poldark.

By Law...

...this photo has to become a meme, right?

Not My Proudest Google Moment of the Day.

Xmastime Classic du Jour

from November 2011

TV Show Idea

How funny would it be to write a show about the days right after the slaves were freed?  I mean, you think Larry David walks into some awkward moments - how great would these be?  White people slipping up and momentarily forgetting emancipation had happened, then the white guy who's going over the top, "hey, I was always on YOUR side!" and on and on.  The snob ex-house slave who prefers the white people and wants to stay, etc. Each side with comical characters, constantly bumping into each other.

Licking my quill, starting to write!   :)

David Brooks' Ass is Baffling to Salon

I mean, WTF?

Doc du Jour

The Wrecking Crew!

I'm partly pissed because they didn't cover The Wrecking Crew until Phil Spector had passed them off to Brian Wilson, but I'm also happy because between this movie, Standing in the Shadows of Motown, the Muscles Shoals sound, 20 Feet from the Stardom and almost every song except the ones made from Stax!, the people that made the entire genre re: here. Finally, we get to see how brilliant The Beatles are.

Hal Blaine: Forever.

True Detective Question

Have we reached critical mass yet as a society re: grizzled cop who drinks 24/7 and has a death wish?

Awesome Film du Jour

CALVARY.

Loved loved loved this one, and I defer to FILMVETTER for the review.

I would only add as per the the rolling Irish scenery: are you kidding me!?!?!!?!? Jesus. Incredible.

WTF Obama

I've long been a fan of Marc Maron's WTF podcast, but I'm pretty sure nothing will top him having President Obama on as a guest. And while Obama was light & funny whenever he could, as always, last week's shootings in Charleston made for a surprisingly serious podcast:

Obama echoed comments in the immediate aftermath of last week's shooting, saying he's had to make speeches about a "devastating loss" too often.

"It's not enough just to feel bad. There are actions that could be taken to make events like this less likely. One of those actions we could take would be to enhance some basic common sense gun safety laws," Obama said.

Obama lamented Congress's lack of action on gun control and said "Unfortunately, the grip of the NRA on Congress is extremely strong. I don't foresee any legislative action being taken in this Congress."

See pics and listen to the podcast HERE.

IT'S FINALLY HERE!!

Get it now on iTunes.

Previous Xmastime on the doc HERE.

In America

My thought on the Columbine Paducah Va Tech massacre Gabby Giffords VA Tech Aurora, Colorado Sandy Hook again whatever the next one is Charleston shooting is that I’m not surprised at all. To now start the standard post-shooting ritual of wondering if we’re gonna have serious change re: gun laws is silly. So let’s stop with the “national grieving”, and enough with the "shock." Let’s go about our day, shrugging our collective shoulders “well, that’s the price someone else pays so I can stockpile my house with guns." I don’t want one politician on tv squeezing out some tears about this “tragedy.” I want Charlton Heston on the screen with an AK-47 shouting “from my cold, dead hands!!”  My getting blown away in the street by anyone who can crack the riddle of getting their hands on a gun is worth it so that we can all fortify ourselves in preparation for some military takeover that would be possible if we were any other country at any other point in history other than our present-day one. Hey, if we ALL were armed to the gills, that guy would've only gotten off a few shots, right? Don't like it? Move to Canada, you fucking pussy. I'm buying a gun store. - XMASTIME, who knows how many killing sprees ago in America.

 Jon Stewart’s thing on the Charleston shooting is pretty dead-on, most sadly on the “of course we’re gonna do anything”  point.

A-Rod 3000 Update

Via HERE.

A few months ago, who woulda thought that a crowd would be chanting such things during an A-Rod moment to anyone but A-Rod?

UPDATE, 10:04 p.m.: Four straight inside fastballs to Rodriguez in the eighth inning. Each one came close to hitting him. Pretty clear Sam Dyson wanted no part of history. Fans began changing “a**hole” at him, then followed with a “you suck” chant. Got really loud each time.

Mr. 2999

With 2 hits tonight A-Rod is sitting on 2,999 for his career; with another at-bat tonight waiting, he might get that magical 3,000th tonight.  Fours years ago I wrote this:

It'll be interesting to see how Yankee fans handle A-Rod's chase for 3,000 hits; he's only 238 away, meaning it could come as soon as the end of next season-ish.  Obviously Jeter is venerated in a unique way, and our celebrating his approaching milestone is also a way to bask in the 5 championships he helped bring the Yankees.  Meanwhile, a lot of people hate A-Rod for  not being Derek Jeter  flying jets into the World Trade Center, so I wonder if it will be somewhat muted.  Fans are possessive of Jeter's greatness, and tend to get agitated whenever A-Rod slides into the picture.  It also doesn't help that Jeter will be only the 10th player to get all 3,000 with one team, while A-Rod was in Seattle and Texas before joining the Yankees in 2004.  I'm also surprised A-Rod only has 300 more strikeouts than Jeter, which is less than 20/year.  Seems like a classic home run hitter would have way more than a singles slapper.  Also, that Kim Kardashian has some nice titties, doesn't she?

So far tonight the Yankees fans have been pretty delirious in their rotting for A-Rod to get the hit (not Jeter-esque, of course), probably because of a combination of three things: some backlash against the over-reach vis-a-vis the A-Rod hate, the fact that A-Rod is one of the best Yankee hitters this year, and of course if history is to be made you want ti to happen when you're there.

I look forward to the 9th, when A-Rod hopefully gets another crack at it.

Republicans: Tone-Deaf as Usual

Republicans need to quit using rock songs for their campaigns.  All it does is get the musician pissed off, drawing that much more attention to the fact that you probably suck and are the proverbial old fuck who doesn't "get" the jungle music of today's youth (even if said musician is an older than fuck guy like Tom Petty...who, as we already know, doesn't really inspire anybody to do anything, much less support a presidential candidate.)  Surely there are enough Charlie Daniels songs to go around for these people, no?- XMASTIME

Four years later the world has finally caught up with me, thanks to Donald Trump announcing his candidacy to a song that 1) was written by a Canadian 2) details how much America sucks.

State du Moi

I love mayonnaise. I love pizza. I do not, as it turns out, love mayonnaise on pizza. #ewwwwwww

Only Fools and Horses? Yes Please!

Del Boy's opening line when he rolls in kills me EVERY FUCKING TIME.

Happy Bloomsday, Nerds

I re-read Dubliners every every time I see the year's first snowflake (Araby in particular still gets me misty and blubbering), and as you  couldn't give less of a shit about  remember from reading about the pandybat incident I've read Portrait of the Artist as Young Man several times and prolly will again, but Ulysses is another matter altogether.  Like Finnegan's Wake I've never even bothered trying to understand it when reading, but from time to time I pick it up and flip to a random page to read just for that smooth rhythm of Joyce's.  I can think of no other author for whom I do such a thing.  I don't know what the hell's going on and I don't give a shit; it's like loving a song when you don't really know or care what the words mean.

Speaking of which, is A Walk with Xmastime as a Young Buck still the greatest post ever?

Happy Bloomsday

Today of course is Bloomsday, which is great cause that means there's an entire day set aside to remind me of another book I've never read. But I did read Portrait of the Artist, and I found a paper I had written back in college ("back" in college...as if it's even possible I'm anywhere near college age. grrr) on the pandybat incident. I got an A on it, tho in re-reading it right now I'm once again lead to think "how the fuck did I even get in to college, much less graduate?" Even worse, I'm reading the professor's comments and, since my brain has spent the last decade+ as a dust bunny under somebody's bed, I have no idea what he's even saying.

This is well done, especially as you zero in on one scene seen three different ways. I think the names for these three approaches are biographical, historical and formalist/New Critical. (In a few weeks, just to make life more difficult, we'll introduce "New Historical" criticism, which blends all three!) In general, "criticism," "analysis," or "reading" are better terms than "critiquing."

What the fuck. Also, as I'm reading it now, what the fuck kinda school did I go to where the professor writes that he "thinks" the three approaches are called what they are? Wtf? Or that he wrote "scene" and "seen" back to back. Or that he gleefully writes about something we're gonna talk about in a few weeks, complete with exclamation point. Or that his hand could've trembled so much the first time it laid on the small of my back as he pulled me onto himself. Fucking christ.

Insult to Remember Next Time a Lady Rebuffs My Charms

In America

We officially have a Supreme Court Justice - you know,  hyper-rational interpreters of the Constitution - who believes this:

“You should not leave Stone Ridge High School thinking that you face challenges that are at all, in any important sense, unprecedented. Humanity has been around for at least some 5,000 years or so."

Wow.

"...and THEN, there was a snake that talked!!!!"

The Longest Night

Is "The Longest Night" the best episode of Only Fools and Horses? Besides it's gold standard comedy it features 1) a hilarious guest star in the robber and 2) a great character reveal in Del Boy's empathetic dealings with the robber, certainly as someone who knows what it's like to be on that side of the law. Pretty awesome.

Lennox:  Look I haven't had a job right in six years!
Del: Well nor has Rodney!
Lennox: I've got no future!
Del: Nor has Rodney!
Lennox: Look I haven't done a day's work since I left school Del.
Del: It's a tough old world Lennox, tough world but it doesn't give you the right to go round pointing guns at people. (Referring to the gun) That thing's gonna put you in prison.
Lennox: No, I'm too shrewd!
Del: Oh shrewd, you? Shrewd are you? Very shrewd.
Lennox: Yeah!
Del: An hour ago you were The Shadow right, man of mystery. Now we know your name, your address and your mum's shoe size! Give it up Lennox before it's too late, eh? That gun doesn't suit
you!

 Watch on Hulu for much better video quality.

Aujourd-hui

When it’s 6:30am & you’ve informed your broken-down cabdriver that no, you do NOT want to hitchhike, it’s already been an “interesting” day.

In America

One of the more interesting things I’ve noticed in the latest white cop shoots black guy story is that apparently, the people who most vociferously defend the cop seem to have absolutely no confidence in a cop’s competence. The cop’s incapable of chasing a 50 year-old man down. He’s incapable of getting help from other cops to chase him down. He’s incapable of quickly figuring out well, eventually this guy will want o come back and collect his car, or the fact that losing one’s car for a broken taillight is an incredibly harsh punishment. No, he is simply capable of lazily pulling out his gun and shooting not once, but eight times. Interesting. - XMASTIME

Last night I caught Jeff Ross' roast at a prison in Texas. Read his totally depressing look into the American prison system HERE. While the roast was an incredible idea that was eye-opening about the system and yet pretty much ruined by Comedy Central having commercial very 90 seconds, not allowing any momentum to be built, one thing mentioned that casually got tossed aside is that in this maximum-security prison in of all places TEXAS, the guards, get this, don't have guns. None. The guard Ross asked this about brushed it off oh, we know how to handle these guys. And this guard was a small woman. Surrounded by hard-core criminal such as murderers (and, depressingly, NON hard-core criminals who are in prison for like smelling cannabis or some shit.)

So, maximum-security prison with murderers, we trust the people in charge can handle things without guns. But any situation on the street, such as a scared teen running away, we're perfectly comfortable with the idea that a cop's first and only solution is to whip out a gun and start spraying bullets.

Of course. Makes total sense.

Oh Oh

Happy for A-Rod...tho if he ends his career with 666 home runs, some people are gonna feel pretty self-satisfied. - XMASTIME, May 1, 2015

A-Rod's game-tying homer last night, lost to futility thanks to the Yankees now-shitty bullpen, put him over 2,000 RBI to join Hank Aaron in this rarest of fraternities and yes, gave him home run #...666.

Got a Kick Outta This

Isn't It Time...

...for Larry David to record a cover of Beast of Burden?

"Pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, girl
Such a pretty, pretty, pretty girl"

More Thoughts. I Have Them.

If you escape from an ultra-high security prison, the clock starts ticking. And if nobody tracks you down within 30 days, then you can turn yourself in and instead of having you waste away in a cell forever we put your particular genius to use, much like the government does to super-hackers who've hacked into their own security systems.

Thoughts. I Have Them.

If you're white but can fool the NAACP you're black, so much so that you're in a prominent leadership promotion, shouldn't you get a promotion?

Worlds Colliding!

 From my probably amazing debut novel you can buy HERE:

At least those pleas were based on good intentions; the talking to her cat on the phone thing was just plain nuts.  The only way to wrap those calls up was to break down and actually talk to the cat, whose coaching from my sister on what to say I could perfectly hear in the background  – which wasn’t too difficult since the cat didn’t make a sound and was the only thing in the room less interested in this little pretend conversation than as I was.  To finally end it I’d have to shout “well okay Maggie, could you please put Bridget on the phone?” loudly enough for Bridget to hear me, at which point she’d come back on the phone bubbling on and on about how great it must be for me to talk to my “niece” while I wrestled with the fact that I’d just spent 60 seconds of my life talking to a cat on the phone.  Fucking hell.

Ha! Imagine my happiness upon discovering the same thing played out in one of my newest favorite shows of all time, Only Fools and Horses  :)

Del Boy Speaking French! :)

Thoughts. I Have Them.

Was watching Grace and Frankie on Netflix & wondering if divorce lawyers could practice after getting divorced when it occurred to me that in the pilot episode of Mr. Belvedere one of the kids mentions his sex ed teacher is pregnant & Mr. Belvedere says "who says teachers aren't qualified?"

Questions. I Have Them.

Shouldn't NHL team websites use the .net suffix instead of the .com one?

Dammit.

Ben's Chili Bowl apparently doesn't watch the news, unfortunately tees up 1000s of "the half-smoke that puts you right to sleep!" jokes :(  #toosad

Ambition. I Have It.

One day, I wanna reply to someone's Facebook pic w/outrageously adorable kids by commenting "Oh, stop it. Just stop it."

Charles Dickens Died 145 Years Ago Today

Celebrate with the earliest know Dickens film, The Death of Poor Joe:

The Death of Poor Joe, which dates back to March 1901, was discovered by British Film Institute (BFI) curator Bryony Dixon, in February.

Until now the earliest known Dickens film was Scrooge or Marley's Ghost, released in November 1901.

"It's wonderful to have discovered such a rare and unique film," Ms Dixon said.

"It looks beautiful and is in excellent condition. This really is the icing on the cake of our current celebration of Dickens on Screen."

Here's My Goddaughter...

...trying to crush someone’s skull with telekinesis.   

Thoughts. I Have Them.

If Green Day is in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame, then Rancid should get in simply for ...and Out Come the Wolves.

Holy Crap du Jour

THIS is very cool:

John Lennon engages in "my second favorite occupation" on WNEW-FM as "Doctor Winston O' Boogie" sits in with DJ Dennis Elsas on September 28, 1974 to discuss the new "Walls and Bridges" album, its artwork, past LPs and album covers, and how releases from VeeJay Records and Capitol Records differed from Beatles UK LPs.

Lennon spins Bobby Parker's "Watch Your Step" and follows it with "Day Tripper" revealing the nick. Talks about the "Yesterday and Today" photo session and two album covers. Criticizes re-mixes of monaural recordings turned into stereo, as they were on the "Red" and "Blue" Beatles compilation albums released in 1973.

Xmastime Rock Doc Review

Like most music-loving men of my generation I first heard the name Alex Chilton the day I bought Pleased To Meet Me, so I'm not really sure why it took so long for me to watch Nothing can Hurt Me, the doc on Big Star and in particular, Chilton and the McCartney to his own Lennon, Chris Bell.

The good news is, there's a documentary on Big Star. The bad news is that for a band who so beautifully and meticulously put together two of the most beautiful albums of all time, #1 Record and Radio City (sorry, I never really got into their third one), precious few minutes of the film are actually about the making of the music. Do we need so much time with Jim Dickinson's widow, or going through Chilton's lost years in which he kind of looks like an idiot? Then there's the fact of Chilton's magnetism and charisma, but then nobody really talks about where it came from or what it propelled.

Also like many people I assume, when I think of Big Star I think of Alex Chilton. I knew Chris Bell and have long loved the wonderful I Am the Cosmos single and it's B-side, and the film does do a nice job of connecting the dots from the sound of the single back to the Big Star albums and pointing out it was Bell's vision that shaped the music perhaps more than Chilton. Bell supposedly left the band after the first record in part because of jealousy over the attention Chilton got, but 1) maybe don't ask a guy who had some massive global hits as a teenager into your band, since  2) rock critics are lazy as shit just like anybody else and of course they're gonna focus on a person in the band they've already heard of.

As Filmvetter mentions, the film suffers a bit since Bell and Chilton are dead, so they couldn't be interviewed. Chilton has always been a willing enigma, and Bell comes across in the film as a guy haunted about something we don't really know what, depressed and maybe a victim of his own artiness whose death at 27 seems somewhat inevitable. By the end of the movie you're simultaneously bummed thinking of all the great music Chilton and Bell never got to make together, but grateful for what little bit they did.

You can watch the film on Netflix or Hulu, here's the trailer.

Even MORE Sgt. Pepper

Kenneth Tynan of The Times described it as "a decisive moment in the history of Western civilisation". Richard Poirier wrote: "listening to the Sgt. Pepper album one thinks not simply of the history of popular music but the history of this century." Newsweek‍‍ '‍s Jack Kroll called it a "masterpiece", comparing the lyrics with literary works by Edith Sitwell, Harold Pinter and T. S. Eliot, particularly "A Day in the Life", which he compared to Eliot's The Waste Land.

More Sgt. Pepper

Rolling Stone magazine's Langdon Winner recalls:

The closest Western Civilization has come to unity since the Congress of Vienna in 1815 was the week the Sgt. Pepper album was released. In every city in Europe and America the radio stations played [it] ... and everyone listened ... it was the most amazing thing I've ever heard. For a brief while the irreparable fragmented consciousness of the West was unified, at least in the minds of the young.

I Read the News Today

Great BBC doc celebrating the 25th anniversary of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band (George Martin & Paul McCartney fiddling with the controls?!?!?)

This June 1 marked the 48th anniversary of its release.

A-Rod Milestone Updates

He's not only now in sole possession of 2nd place on the MLB RBI list, but with 4 hits tonight (that's right, 4!) A-Rod finds himself only 9 hits away form the exclusive 3,000 hit fraternity. Pretty amazing.

31 Years Ago Today

Born in the USA came out:

I bought Born in the USA when it came out; I was 11 years old and this seemed to me to be the only real 'rock n roll' record out there that I knew about at the time. I can still remember playing it over and over - I loved the bombast of the title track, and I LOVED 'Dancing in the Dark', - still do to this day. The track that still gets me choked up, and I can still picture where I was sitting when I first heard it, is 'Bobby Jean'.  Funeral slice of funeral slices. I wore the HELL outta Born in the USA (still have the cassette). Many, many years later Op gave me a mix tape of Bruce cuts (remember mix tapes?). I remember riding the Dog down to Charlottesville and I had it in my walkman, kinda listening, not really paying attention etc and then a song called 'Livin On the Edge of the World' came on.  And just like that, I was in love.  - XMASTIME

Story behind the cap on the album cover HERE.

Somewhere, I don't know where, there's a tape of me and Dave on E Street Radio giving my rundown of what should have been Born in the USA. Hint: My Love Will Not Let You Down/Lions Den/This Hard Land in, Darlington County/Downbound Train out.

An Open Letter

To those outraged by Bruce Caitlyn Jenner being called a "hero", alongside our national servicemen and women:

As always, when the time comes for us to send people halfway around the world to fight a war for dubious reasons don't worry, we'll send them, not Caitlyn Jenner. So relax. You win.

The BBC Is Apparently Taking a Cue...

...from the Marvel Universe:

It is a good day to be English literature nerds! Because the BBC is currently filming Dickensian, a 20-episode TV series where all of Charles Dickens’ characters essentially live together in Victorian London, including Oliver Twist, Fagin, Ebeneezer Scrooge, Miss Havisham from Great Expectations, and more.

83 Years Ago Today

Lou Gehrig hit four home runs, but only tied for team RBI lead for the day. Wow.

Well, This Will be Tough to Top

Mukluks: New Haven Drew

Must Say

Snoopy is a cool motherfucker. So I cannot say I'm super-excited about him apparently having a girlfriend in the upcoming Peanuts movie.

Carl's Jr. Loves America More Than You

Don't worry that's a split hot dog, not a big fucking tongue.

Spinnin' by Soul Asylum

Now that was a great song.

It's a Good Year for The Wrecking Crew

Beside shaving their own doc coming out any day now, they're surely highly featured in the scenes of the upcoming Love and Mercy which feature Brian Wilson making his ultra-classic Pet Sounds.  And yes, John Cusack as 1980's Wilson is weird as fuck.

#Oriolesfans4life

Xmastime Rocker Holy Trinity

Plans. I Have Them.

Seriously thinking about writing a book titled Whoa Whoa Whoa…First Duran Duran​ Breaks Up & Now I Gotta Listen to THIS Bullshit??!!!

Onion du Jour

God, I Love Tommy James

I love Tommy James and the Shondells. They are WAY OVERLOOKED, AS I'VE PRESENTED HERE.

Tommy James was awesome.

Respect

At the end of “Valentine”, Paul points up to the balcony to his sister, “the original Waitress in the Sky”.

Rock stars you love when you're young never appear to be normal or even to be from a human family; it's a nice moment at the end of this to see Paul Westerberg acknowledge his sister in the audience.

Quote du Jour

"While I am obsessed with death, I am against it." - Sarah Vowell

AV Club Shizz

There's an Onion A.V. series I wasn't aware of until recently:

With so many new series popping up on streaming services and DVD, it gets harder and harder to keep up with new shows, much less the all-time classics. With TV Club 10, we point you toward the 10 episodes that best represent a TV series, classic or modern. If you watch these 10, you’ll have a better idea of what that series was about, without having to watch the whole thing. These are not meant to be the 10 best episodes, but rather the 10 most representative episodes.

Pretty cool - here's one on A Different World.

"But Xmastime", you say in the voice of Craig “Ironhead” Heyward from those soap commercials (RIP), “isn't it fucked up that they haven't done one on how overlooked and underrated Wings is?"
Sigh. YES, faithful readers, yes.

KIP!

Short interview with Marah:

SM: In October the band is releasing “Kids in Philly” on vinyl to celebrate it’s 15th anniversary of release, have you heard a test pressing of “Kids in Philly” yet?

DB: Yeah, and I ain't lying...it's 10 times the record it is known to be. “KIP” was made as an analog record, but it's only ever been heard as a sterile, MP3-esque digital, small, tinny picture of its old self...I'm very pleased to say that as an LP, all of the life and soul and bass and balls have returned and it sounds super-duper, very powerful and convincing.

It is one of the very few good records I can think of that appeared at the exact wrong second and fell into that digital only movement where, up until now, it was frozen between those changing technologies. Luckily—with a ton of hard work—we  were able to double back and rescue it. Close call—now it'll be on the Earth long after we are. Thanks to Paul Smith (amazing production) and Scott Hull at Masterdisk NYC (mastering engineer, vinyl enthusiast and Buddha of music.)

Don't forget to pre-order the vinyl Kids in Philly HERE!!

Best Weekend Evah