Let me just emphatically object to the characterization of John Travolta as one of "our best actors."

And to the person who hadn't watched Only Angels Have Wings, it's wonderful. It's moody, atmospheric, and very Hawksian - with the male bonding in the face of danger, and the contrast of heroism vs cowardice.

I took a Film Studies class (at UCSB) on Howard Hawks and Alfred Hitchcock. One of the Hawks' films we watched was Only Angels Have Wings. It's a great movie. Cary Grant, who is my favorite pre-WW2 movie star, was excellent in it. Rita Hayworth was hot (for her time, but not really compared with modern heat).

It's been more than 20 years since I saw that film, but I recall one line. The story involves a bunch of bush pilots in an unnamed banana republic. Somebody enters Cary Grant's office and asks if they have any bananas in? Grant responds, "None yet." The guy repeats, "We have no bananas?" Grant smiles, "Yes, we have ... no bananas." I don't think Hawks used that song in the movie -- it was written for Broadway in the early 1920s -- but it was a pretty good joke for 1939.

Vaux, I just object to the notion that music is totally subjective. I may prefer (most of the time) AC/DC over classical, but that doesn't mean I'm delusional enough to think Angus Young is a superior musician to Yo Yo Ma. There has to be some objectivity.

Yes, there has to be some objectivity. Where it is is a complex question that I hope to tackle at some point in a systematic, scholarly way, but at present, I have little idea of how to proceed. For example, the proposed function of a type of music needs to play a role in how "good" we consider it to be, but what role? It's all music. How much people enjoy a piece of music needs to play a role, but what people? What is it to "enjoy"? Equally reputable scholars have widely different personal likes and dislikes. Much music isn't directed at scholars at all; is that music automatically considered less "good" than music that is partly directed at scholars? Not all "classical" music is really directed at scholars, either. What about film music written in a late 19th-century style, but in the 1970s and directed at a mass audience of movie goers? And so on, and so on.

I was at a concert last night that included 20th and 21st-century "classical" music (Kirchner's 4th Quartet, Adams's Chamber Symphony, Carter's Eight Etudes and a Fantasy) and also several pop covers, performed by many of the same musicians. The audience enjoyed all of it. The musicians enjoyed performing all of it, and performed all of it well. But the pop covers were, in some ways, more different from either the Carter or the Kirchner than those are from each other. In other ways, of course, similar. So it's a difficult problem--so difficult, in fact, that I'm sometimes not sure that it is a problem.

Things can be appreciated but you don't necessarily have to like them. I can't stand country music for the most part but there sure are some outstanding musicians who choose to play it. I guess that's an example of the objectivity I'm referring to. Being a (mediocre) musician myself I think helps me appreciate it, maybe more so than someone who might have no musical inclinations. Hell, even banging the same few barre chords in most punk songs isn't necessarily an easy thing to do - up on a stage or in a recoding studio, at least.

They really are the perfect screen couple, better even than Bogie/Bacall

I have to disagree here. Of course, it may depend on what you are looking for. With Bogie and Bacall, the feelings between the two of them were real and powerful, and came through the screen, making their performances something very different from most screen pairings.

I'll give you real life, and for the sheer implausibility of its plot I absolutely love Dark Passage, but how many movies did Bogie & Bacall even make together? Four? Powell and Loy made fourteen, and even in some of the lesser ones, their repartee makes them well worth watching.

Let me just emphatically object to the characterization of John Travolta as one of "our best actors."

Small sample size, maybe. I've only seen a few of his movies (OTTOMH Pulp Fiction and Get Shorty come to mind), but I liked him enough in those to remember his performances. On reflection I'd go with Pacino, DeNiro and much of Keitel, mostly in their crime flicks, which is about the only mainstream Hollywood genre I can stand at all these days. And after seeing The Wrestler, I guess I should probably see a few more Mickey Rourke movies, too.

(Jeez, I just heard Sterling describe a home run that sounded as if it'd been launched by Babe Ruth in his prime, and it turned out to be by Brett Gardner. I wonder whether it even made 400 ft.)

Best contemporary actor? Daniel Day-Lewis, hands down.

Actress? Meryl Streep.

Worst? I'm not sure.

Worst? I'm not sure.

Keanu when he's doing an accent.

after seeing The Wrestler, I guess I should probably see a few more Mickey Rourke movies, too

.

The Pope of Greenwich Village from the 1980s is pretty good. The Wrestler and Rourke is an example of a part perfectly matching an actor.

This is serious, no joke, an hour before Jackson had his heart attack, I randomly decided to download his greatest hits History album. I had owned the album several years ago, but it had since been stolen. I picked yesterday to reacquire it.

So basically, I think I killed him.

I had tickets to go see Nirvana in Prague in 1994, a couple of weeks before, Cobain killed himself. In 1999, I had tickets to see Morphine, and Sandman drops dead on the stage in Italy.

If you have a band, don't let me buy tickets to your show.

Both my pops and mj lived to: Two months and four days shy of 51.

One of those things.

In baseball terms, classical is the Majors, jazz is AAA, and Punk is a blind, paraplegic t-ball league.

As a professional singer who is in the chorus of Maazel's last four concerts as conductor of the NY Phil, I'll also have to back off this one. Black Flag means more to me than Mozart ever did.

I don't want to get all down on the attitude, but it is a bit of this exclusivity that's destroying the audience. I can't think of a single classical music store anywhere in America that's still open.

Punk is a blind, paraplegic t-ball league

Cool...found my next fanzine title!

Thanks!

Joke told to me after the concert by an orchestra member:



The lovely, talented, and thoughtful Farrah Fawcett passes away after a long battle with cancer. God, seeing her good works and how beloved she was tells her that she can have one wish.

Farrah says without hesitation, "Please, God, can you please just make all the children safe?"

So God kills Michael Jackson.

Farrah says without hesitation, "Please, God, can you please just make all the children safe?"

So God cracks down on steroids in MLB.

, but how many movies did Bogie & Bacall even make together? Four? Powell and Loy made fourteen, and even in some of the lesser ones, their repartee makes them well worth watching.

Quality over quantity. As much as I love Loy/Powell, nothing they made was as good as To Have and Have Not or The Big Sleep.

Worst? I'm not sure.

Keanu when he's doing an accent.

I cannot disagree more strongly.

Keanu is worst regardless of the accent or language he thinks he's speaking.

Really, I'm not sure that what he does even qualifies as acting. Doesn't "acting" at least imply the expression of some emotion -- any emotion?

Best contemporary actor? Daniel Day-Lewis, hands down.

He's on my short list with Edward Norton.

I consider DeNiro and Pacino to be the generation before that, along with Hoffman. All 3 are just doing caricatures of themselves these days.

As a professional singer who is in the chorus of Maazel's last four concerts as conductor of the NY Phil, I'll also have to back off this one. Black Flag means more to me than Mozart ever did.

Can you throw a stone at Maazel on his way out? My family's had a subscription to the Philharmonic for, gosh, 40ish years, and we came damn close to giving our seats up in the last few years because we absolutely loathe Maazel and his music. I'm (somewhat distantly) related to Alma Mahler, and I'm sure the thought of that gremlin conducting Mahler makes Alma spin in her grave.

Black Flag means more to me than Mozart ever did.

Why are you talking about bug spray, and what is the basis of your emotional attachment to it?

Can you throw a stone at Maazel on his way out? My family's had a subscription to the Philharmonic for, gosh, 40ish years, and we came damn close to giving our seats up in the last few years because we absolutely loathe Maazel and his music. I'm (somewhat distantly) related to Alma Mahler, and I'm sure the thought of that gremlin conducting Mahler makes Alma spin in her grave.

I did the piece last in San Francisco under Tilson-Thomas, who I consider kind of a genius, so I have no problem placing this experience way less on the scale of fulfillment.

I will admit this is actually my first real experience with him (Maazel) as a conductor and I admit to knowing little about his music. Sadly for your argument, and perhaps because he's on the way out, he's been nothing but jocular throughout the rehearsals. He's been kind of fun and quite respectful to the purpose of Mahler's philosophical (if not musical) bent of the piece. His tempos are rather glacial, although he had a pretty fun moment at the end today where he simply decided that he was bored and finally did the closing at something akin to what's proper.

I was just looking at Mahler's family tree today, so it's fun news that you join that somewhere. That being said, Alma, well, she's not really entirely known for being particularly trustworthy in regards to accurate portrayals of Gustav, I'm sorry to say.

I don't mind Maazel's music so much, but I hope your family likes the new guy as conductor and holds on. I don't know much about him.

He's on my short list with Edward Norton.

Damn Edward Norton. He's screwing up my hands down comment. Damn his excellent acting!

Why are you talking about bug spray, and what is the basis of your emotional attachment to it

I liked that Ataris changed "Deadhead" to "Black Flag" when they covered the old 1980s Don Henley radio hit The Boys of Summer. A 19-year-old student of mine talked to me the other day about how she loves that song, and had (amusingly but somehow endearingly) never heard of The Grateful Dead, Don Henley, or Black Flag.

"Damn Edward Norton. He's screwing up my hands down comment. Damn his excellent acting."

agreed

I liked that Ataris changed "Deadhead" to "Black Flag" when they covered the old 1980s Don Henley radio hit The Boys of Summer.

I hate to be part of the "everything sucks" internet, but I never really liked this song in the first place and now that this cover you speak of is out and about everywhere, I now actively hate it with the heat of one thousand suns.

Henry Rollins writes:

Black Flag means more to me than Mozart ever did.

Did you know that Black Flag spawned The Circle Jerks?

To me, besides Rollins himself, the most memorable thing about Black Flag is the logo of (what I guess is supposed to be) four fingers of a fist. Retards Fans who one day would wear Anarchist t-shirts would the next wear a Black Flag t-shirt. I guess their fans thought they were making some profound statement about Anarchy? I'm guessing few of them had read Thomas Hobbes*.

jealous cowards try to control. rise above. we're gonna rise above. they distort what we say. rise above. we're gonna rise above. try and stop what we do. rise above, when they can't do it themselves. we are tired of your abuse. try to stop us, it's no use. society's arms of control. rise above. we're gonna rise above. think they're smart. can't think for themselves. rise above. we're gonna rise above. laugh at us behind our backs. i find satisfaction in what they lack. we are tired of your abuse. try to stop us, it's no use. we are born with a chance. rise above. we're gonna rise above. i am gonna have my chance. rise above. we're gonna rise above. we are tired of your abuse. try to stop us, it's no use. rise above. rise above. rise above. we're gonna rise above. we're gonna rise above. we're gonna rise above.

Sadly, even the best song lyrics** don't read very well, as saying anything profound. The impact is visceral in the sound of the music, and then the mind pretends that the words of songs have actual, important meaning. With Black Flag, not close to the best song lyrics, further evidence that popular songs are not profound, though (Black Flag crap aside) they can be poetic.***

* Whatsoever therefore is consequent to a time of war, where every man is enemy to every man, the same consequent to the time wherein men live without other security than what their own strength and their own invention shall furnish them withal. In such condition there is no place for industry, because the fruit thereof is uncertain: and consequently no culture of the earth; no navigation, nor use of the commodities that may be imported by sea; no commodious building; no instruments of moving and removing such things as require much force; no knowledge of the face of the earth; no account of time; no arts; no letters; no society; and which is worst of all, continual fear, and danger of violent death; and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.

** On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair
Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air
Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
I had to stop for the night
There she stood in the doorway;
I heard the mission bell
And I was thinking to myself,
this could be heaven or this could be hell
Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way
There were voices down the corridor,
I thought I heard them say...

Welcome to the hotel california
Such a lovely place
Such a lovely face
Plenty of room at the hotel california
Any time of year, you can find it here

Her mind is tiffany-twisted, she got the mercedes bends
She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys, that she calls friends
How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat.
Some dance to remember, some dance to forget

So I called up the captain,
please bring me my wine
He said, we haven't had that spirit here since nineteen sixty nine
And still those voices are calling from far away,
Wake you up in the middle of the night
Just to hear them say...

Welcome to the hotel california
Such a lovely place
Such a lovely face
They livin' it up at the hotel california
What a nice surprise, bring your alibis

Mirrors on the ceiling,
The pink champagne on ice
And she said we are all just prisoners here, of our own device
And in the master's chambers,
They gathered for the feast
The stab it with their steely knives,
But they just can't kill the beast

Last thing I remember, I was
Running for the door
I had to find the passage back
To the place I was before
relax, said the night man,
We are programmed to receive.
You can checkout any time you like,
But you can never leave!

*** Almost all of what passes for or is termed poetry is horrible hackery sh!t. So it really is no knock on rap music that some people think rap rhymes are "poetry." I'm sure there is a poetic or even a profound sentiment within some rap lyric. But I've yet to read one in the whole which reads as anything but lousy writing. (And I don't say this to denegrate rap as rap. I only mention that lousy form of entertainment because it is undeservedly elevatedby many to a lofty status called "poetry.")

Well-written, Rich. (EDIT: Well, it was before you over-wrote it. ;-) )

(Although reading Hobbes isn't required to understand the feel and purpose of punk rock that makes people think. That's being a little too pointy-headed about it, in my opinion, and does give some of the smarter kids an undeserved poke in the eye for not reading what you want them to about anarchy.)

EDITED for screwing up Circle Jerks with the Dead Kennedys, sorry.

I hate to be part of the "everything sucks" internet, but I never really liked this song in the first place and now this cover you speak of has made me actively hate it.

I am not a fan of it, either. But I did get a kick out of hearing "Black Flag" in place of "Deadhead." They left in "Cadillac" though, and I thought they should have changed it to "Sonata" or something. Maybe they couldn't think of a three-syllable vehicle with the right intonation and accents. Proof of creative bankruptcy, I guess.

But then I am easy to amuse.

I'm probably wrong, exposing my admitted ignorance about most punk rock music -- a lot of which I loved, as visceral music, but my recollection is that the DKs were a more profound band than Black Flag, though Henry Rollins fasioned himself (if memory serves) as a "thinker." (I know he wrote a book.) Now I'll go look up some Dead Kennedys lyrics and see what I think at age 45 ....

I loved this song:

I am Governor Jerry Brown
My aura smiles
And never frowns
Soon I will be president...

Carter Power will soon go away
I will be Fuhrer one day
I will command all of you
Your kids will meditate in school
Your kids will meditate in school!

[Chorus:]
California Uber Alles
California Uber Alles
Uber Alles California
Uber Alles California

Zen fascists will control you
100% natural
You will jog for the master race
And always wear the happy face

Close your eyes, can't happen here
Big Bro' on white horse is near
The hippies won't come back you say
Mellow out or you will pay
Mellow out or you will pay!

[Chorus]

Now it is 1984
Knock-knock at your front door
It's the suede/denim secret police
They have come for your uncool niece

Come quietly to the camp
You'd look nice as a drawstring lamp
Don't you worry, it's only a shower
For your clothes here's a pretty flower.

DIE on organic poison gas
Serpent's egg's already hatched
You will croak, you little clown
When you mess with President Brown
When you mess with President Brown

Wow, it's really stupid. Jello Biafra must have just been a dumb kid like I was, back then. ... I just read the lyrics to "Kill the poor." He might have been better off writing, "Kill the lyricist." ... "Religious Vomit" = juvenile stuff, or, as a fair-minded person would say, "What do you expect? He's talking to adolescent boys, idiot!"

Keanu is worst regardless of the accent or language he thinks he's speaking.

Really, I'm not sure that what he does even qualifies as acting. Doesn't "acting" at least imply the expression of some emotion -- any emotion?

If you ever get the chance, you should check him out in Branagh's version of "Much Ado About Nothing."

I don't know why anyone thought that combining Keanu and Shakespeare was a good idea.

RJ, that's a great film, despite Reeves. And you know who was horrible in it -- perhaps by the design of Branagh's direction -- was Michael Keaton in a small role as Dogberry. Keaton is at least an adequate actor, good in some parts, so it's not as if he's in the Reeves-Swazey-Stallone category of stiffs. But that part did not work.

Rich - I've always hated Jello Biafra, and DK was kind of a novelty act as far as I was concerned, even back then. Rollins' may have fashioned himself as a thinker, but he took a lot longer to be annoying and the music was a lot better to my ears.

Just thinking about Kenneth Branagh, who had a very good peak, I loved his film Dead Again. Andy Garcia is brilliant in it. A very good statement about why kids should not start smoking cigarettes, to boot.

Rollins' may have fashioned himself as a thinker, but he took a lot longer to be annoying and the music was a lot better to my ears.

I'm not an expert on music in any sense, much less an expert on punk rock. When I was in high school (graduated 1982), punk was just getting popular. The Sex Pistols were already deceased, but I liked them and the Clash and the Ramones and a song here and there from other groups. But unlike real fans of punk (Mohicans), I didn't identify at all with the lyrics.

Related note ... There used to be a massive outdoor music party with like 20 stages in downtown L.A. every summer back then. I think it was called Street Scene. Bands from all over would show up and play free concerts. A lot of punk rock groups were getting going, then; and that exposed me to each new wave of music. That was where I first saw groups like The Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Meat Puppets, and The Circle Jerks: didn't even know what that term meant prior to their show!

Worst? I'm not sure.

Keanu when he's doing an accent.



I cannot disagree more strongly.

Keanu is worst regardless of the accent or language he thinks he's speaking.

Really, I'm not sure that what he does even qualifies as acting. Doesn't "acting" at least imply the expression of some emotion -- any emotion?

Don't think Keanu is really that bad. Anyone with me?

Black Flag was my music of choice before football games in high school, so I'll hear no ill of them. They rule to this day.

In baseball terms, classical is the Majors, jazz is AAA, and Punk is a blind, paraplegic t-ball league.

I agree with the earlier posters, who said these different kinds of music are all trying to do different things.

I wouldn't want to hear Evelyn Glennie take over for Mo Tucker on a Velvet Underground tune. Probably.

I wouldn't want to hear Steve Jones step in for Andres Segovia on a Turina piece. Probably.

Separating the musician, from the music, from what the music is trying to do, seems kind of counterproductive.

the most memorable thing about Black Flag is the logo of (what I guess is supposed to be) four fingers of a fist.

Geez -- I thought it was just supposed to be a, y'know, black flag. Maybe because my fingers don't form that profile when in a fist. Oh, well.

Keanu is much like Neifi Perez or Juan Pierre. Much better than the average Joe at what they do, but in the bottom tier of their peer group.

Anyone with me?

*** crickets ***

I loathe Keano Reeves - what a crumb

Small World Dept.: All I know about Henry Rollins' music is what I read in the papers, but back when he was first starting out in the 80's he was also the manager of the Georgetown Haagen-Dazs, and used to come into my book shop fairly often. And everything I remember about him was positive: Soft-spoken, no bullshlt or posing, and very mainstream (for a shop like mine, at least) taste: Russian and other continental novelists and philosophers were mostly what I recall, that and the fact that he bought in great quantity, and frequently brought along what seemed like random friends of his to introduce them to the shop. This would have been when he was in his early-mid 20's, but by the time I left Georgetown he'd gone on to bigger and better things.

I think Edward Norton is hugely overrated, at least if people are hailing him as the best of his generation. That doesn't say much for this generation if that's the case. What is his really special performance? American History X? Mediocre movie, good performance. Fight Club? Maybe, but Pitt steals the show. 25th Hour? I like it a lot, but it's not a towering performance or anything. What's left after that? Red Dragon? The Italian Job? The Incredible Hulk? He's got a handful of good movies and a bunch of stuff ranging from "crap" to "average-ish," and I have never found myself wanting to see a movie more because Edward Norton was in it. He is a fine actor, I just don't get him as the best.

Daniel Day-Lewis, on the other hand, deserves every word of praise he's received and then some. I'll see anything he's in, and I'm looking way ahead to his collaboration with Scorsese on an adaptation of Silence in 2010/2011.

On a side note - Pacino really gets the shaft on the "mailing it in" complaints. De Niro, unfortunately, has been doing so for about 20 years now (I'll give him credit for the first Meet the Parents movie, which I like him in), but Pacino, while he has his moments of self parody, has delivered some good to excellent performances in the past couple of decades - Carlito's Way, Angels in America, The Merchant of Venice, The Insider, et cetera. He is not 1970s Al Pacino any more, but I would not expect anybody alive today to have a run like 1970s Al Pacino (The Godfather, The Godfather Pt. II, Dog Day Afternoon, Serpico, ...And Justice for All - all electric performances, and he also gives a nice turn in his film debut, The Panic in Needle Park, which isn't a bad little movie in its own right).

And everybody seems to have basically forgotten about Jack Nicholson, which is sort of weird. He too has his moments of self parody, but like Pacino, when he cares, he can still hold his own against anybody (About Schmidt, The Departed - yes, the latter is Grinning Jack, but it fits the character and he does an excellent job). Then again, I hadn't realized how little he's been acting these days - those two movies are basically it since 2002, except for The Bucket List, which looks execrable.

was heavily influenced by it (although Martin was more influenced by Crosby's style than Sinatra's).
What I've heard is that his biggest influence was Harry Mills (of the Brothers) -- not that that's very far from Crosby.

double indemnity is so good on so many levels

I'll watch that movie just to hear the way Fred MacMurray says "Baby."

Agreed. I have two other delicious banters that I love in that movie, courtesy of imdb.

The first time Walter and Phyllis meet:

Phyllis: Mr. Neff, why don't you drop by tomorrow evening about eight-thirty. He'll be in then.
Walter: Who?
Phyllis: My husband. You were anxious to talk to him weren't you?
Walter: Yeah, I was, but I'm sort of getting over the idea, if you know what I mean.
Phyllis: There's a speed limit in this state, Mr. Neff. Forty-five miles an hour.
Walter: How fast was I going, officer?
Phyllis: I'd say around ninety.
Walter: Suppose you get down off your motorcycle and give me a ticket.
Phyllis: Suppose I let you off with a warning this time.
Walter: Suppose it doesn't take.
Phyllis: Suppose I have to whack you over the knuckles.
Walter: Suppose I bust out crying and put my head on your shoulder.
Phyllis: Suppose you try putting it on my husband's shoulder.
Walter: That tears it.

And at the end, the hurt and disappointment on Edward G. Robinson's face and in his voice and the pace at which he says "Closer than that, Walter" is profound. And that Walter can't quite apologize -- what an ending.

Walter: Know why you couldn't figure this one, Keyes? I'll tell ya. 'Cause the guy you were looking for was too close. Right across the desk from ya.
Keyes: Closer than that, Walter.
Walter: I love you, too.

And harkening all the way back to Repoz's intro, The Seeds guest-starring on The Mothers-In-Law.

I've always thought that "California Uber Alles" is a cleverly written song poking fun at both a popular political figure and the extremes that his haters would think of him -- but nothing more than that.

If there's any money in fanzines I'm gonna get a lawyer to track Repoz down.

What show was that from? I like how during the Seeds' (who I never heard of until yesterday, never heard "Pushing Too Hard" either) "performance" the two old people on the couch closest to them seemed disgusted through the whole thing, but when it was over they clapped enthusiastically with everyone else.

RJ, that's a great film, despite Reeves.

Rich, you're right. It is a great film, filled with people who really understand how to perform the material, which just has the effect of further amplifying how obviously unsuited Keanu is for his role. The only person I've ever seen who did a worse job with the rhythm of the language in Shakespeare would be Jack Lemmon, in his brief role in Branagh's Hamlet.

And harkening all the way back to Repoz's intro, The Seeds guest-starring on The Mothers-In-Law.

heh! the cape is terrific...

one of the linked videos that popped up at the end was Bettie Page dances to the Seeds

I wouldn't want to hear Steve Jones step in for Andres Segovia on a Turina piece. Probably.

Separating the musician, from the music, from what the music is trying to do, seems kind of counterproductive.

I have to take exception with this because what it implies is that Steve Jones coulda been Segovia if he wanted to, he just chose to be a Sex Pistol. Maybe he could of. But the odds were greatly stacked against him. Freddie Patek might've been George Brett, if he really wanted to. Classical guitarists (musicians in general) are held to a far higher standard. You could have two carpenters, one who specializes in birdhouses and another who frames mutli-story homes. You might say the former just chooses to stick with the birdhouses but that doesn't change the fact that the latter requires much more skill and work. And yes, there's something to be said for simplicity but you can't discount the relative difficulty in what a musician is trying to do either. Apologies for all the analogies...

The only person I've ever seen who did a worse job with the rhythm of the language in Shakespeare would be Jack Lemmon, in his brief role in Branagh's Hamlet.

I daresay Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes give him a run for his money in "Romeo + Juliet". I really enjoy that movie whenever they are not in it. And Harold Perrineau's Mercutio is fantastic. Man, was he wasted on the Matrix sequels.

I daresay Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes give him a run for his money in "Romeo + Juliet". I really enjoy that movie whenever they are not in it. And Harold Perrineau's Mercutio is fantastic. Man, was he wasted on the Matrix sequels.

I remember just generally not liking that movie, but that's at least partially because I don't really like it when directors try to move Shakespeare's plays into an ultra modern setting -- Titus (which was an absolute joy of a film) is about as far as I can take it and still be happy -- and I'm also not terribly fond of Baz Lurhmann's quick cut/crowded screen methods.

However, you are completely correct about Mercutio - that performance was wonderfully over the top in all the right ways.

What show was that from?
The Mothers-In-Law, about neighbors whose kids marry, move in and hilarity ensues. Or not. An unfunny show despite Eve Arden.

You might say the former just chooses to stick with the birdhouses but that doesn't change the fact that the latter requires much more skill and work.

He could make perfectly crafted little birdhouses that goes for $10000...

I have to take exception with this because what it implies is that Steve Jones coulda been Segovia if he wanted to, he just chose to be a Sex Pistol.

If I implied that, I didn't mean to. I think a lot of people don't see the "difficulty" in playing simple ("Play Guitar in a Day - the Steve Jones Way!").
Segovia could not have been Steve Jones, either, even though he had far greater technical proficiency on the instrument.

I remember years & years ago, seeing a very technical progressive-rock drummer in clinic (Rod Morgenstein?) talking about playing with another musician for the first time, and the other guy asking him to play less and less, until it came down to 1 on the bass, 2 and 4 on the snare, and quarter-notes on the hi-hat. That was it. Morgenstein nearly fell apart, trying to stay in the groove while playing so simply.
Even if you don't have the innate talent (or desire) to be a Mr. Fancypants musician, you can still develop (and maintain) the skill of playing simply, and in the pocket.
In jazz, you have Connie Kay. I'd rather hear him with the Modern Jazz Quartet than, say, Buddy Rich. Same idea.

An unfunny show despite Eve Arden.


Roger C. Carmel and Richard Deacon hater!

And at the end, the hurt and disappointment on Edward G. Robinson's face and in his voice and the pace at which he says "Closer than that, Walter" is profound.

TCM had The Cincinnati Kid on last night. I didn't watch it (but I saw it years ago). Edward G. Robinson was a very good actor.

I daresay Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes give him a run for his money in "Romeo + Juliet". I really enjoy that movie whenever they are not in it.

I'm glad I never saw that, because I don't want to shatter my illusion, if it is just an illusion, that DiCaprio is a great actor. Even though he won more praise for his work in other films, I thought his performance in The Departed was his best. Matt Damon on the other hand .... needs to choose parts which demand less acting skill.

I remember watching "The Mothers-In-Law"; it was hardly a great series, but not terribly bad, either. Kaye Ballard played the other mother, and I don't think the sitcom format fit her all that well. The serioes was created by Desi Arnaz post-divorce from Lucy; IIRC, it was on for two seasons on NBC in a difficult timeslot (Sundays at 8:30, opposite the second half of the still potent "Ed Sullivan Show").

Eve Arden was an excellent actress, best known for comedy, of course (listen to the radio series "Our Miss Brooks" for proof -- the premise is dated, but her approach is still fresh), but she did have a nice turn as James Stewart's secretary in "Anatomy Of A Murder."

Segovia could not have been Steve Jones, either, even though he had far greater technical proficiency on the instrument.

I think Segovia could master the barre chord. ;)

Roger C. Carmel and Richard Deacon hater!
Au contraire, I loved them both. Mudd and Mel!

it was hardly a great series, but not terribly bad, either. Kaye Ballard played the other mother, and I don't think the sitcom format fit her all that well.
The 4 parents were well cast (I think Deacon was replaced or was a replacement for some other actor). But the show struck me as very lame in the day.

If anybody wants to see Raymond Chandler's cameo in "Double Indemnity," here it is.

Regarding Jimmie Rodgers, Barry Mazor argues he begat a whole lot more than Hank Williams. His new book is worthwhile reading for anyone interested in speculating on the most influential musicians of the past century.

(Some names checked in said book include B.B. King, The Cramps, The Blasters, Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bill Monroe, Howlin' Wolf, Woody Guthrie, Beck, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis -- a great interview -- and singers in Kenya. Also Elvis, Hank, and to bring it back to baseball, Gene Autry.)

Back to the original topic...


I was walking around NYC today, and everywhere you went you heard Michael Jackson's songs; passing cars with the windows down and the stereo blaring, boomboxes in the park (and yes, people still listen to boomboxes), and all the breakdancing streetshows were 100% Michael.

Then tonight, all the bars/clubs were playing MJ too....every time one of the big songs would come on, people would actually -cheer-. And I've never seen so many people dancing. Hell, I was dancing up a storm.

I think that in the later years of Jackson's life, people were somehow inhibited from fully enjoying his music because of what Jackson had become. I don't know if I'd entirely describe it as: "enjoying Jackson's music was tacit acceptance of his unsavory behavior", but I think it was something like that.

Now that he's gone, its as if that shadow has lifted. Jackson's music is what it is, and isn't colored by his decline and fall. I don't understand why his death has transformed the perception of his music, but there's been an unmistakable transformation. It stunned me tonight how many people were confessing that they -loved- Michael Jackson.

If anybody wants to see Raymond Chandler's cameo in "Double Indemnity," here it is.
Thanks, Gonf. IIRC, that's when Walter is going to get the transfer job offer from Keyes.

zop, I think that you've hit on something there. The frenzy of buying out MJ stuff upon his death is unparalleled, I think. I don't remember the Elvis death hysteria being so widespread.

Billy Mays died... now we need to review the golden age of infomercials, I guess...

From Billy's wiki article:

Apparently, CNN hasn't confirmed this yet and there is still hope

AP has it up:

Police: TV pitchman Billy Mays found dead at home

sell your OxiClean stock...

edited to add:

looks like it's a bad week to be 50.

I think that in the later years of Jackson's life, people were somehow inhibited from fully enjoying his music because of what Jackson had become. I don't know if I'd entirely describe it as: "enjoying Jackson's music was tacit acceptance of his unsavory behavior", but I think it was something like that.

probably, I worked at a retail electronics store and we would have the Michael Jackson DVD playing on the big screens and nearly everyday we would sell one of those DVDS and it was in an area where the local population preferred country and cousin breeding over urban music or color. When the 25th anniversary Thriller came out, it also sold like hotcakes. People would still comment on him being a freak but would still own a copy of his music.