“Jesus, darling—when do you reckon they’ll learn?”
As good as the BBC is at making authoritative and expertly styled documentaries on virtually everything, it seems bizarrely in denial of the YouTube age.
As with its programsonpunk, reggae, synthesizers, and krautrock, the Beeb’s rights department seems strangely bent on keeping its pop history lessons imprisoned in its UK-only iPlayer nick, even while kind YouTube uploaders like LisbonExpress and Syden2 hook up the colonies with the good-good.
Ah well. Here’s the BBC’s doc on David Bowie’s creation of his Ziggy Stardust persona…
After the jump, the Beeb doc on how Pete Townshend & the Who made Quadrophenia…
From a galaxy far, far away (France) BB Boris (Boris Bouquerel) is a man on a mission:
I became a songwriter and created a one-man cabaret show where I portrayed a “Man From The Future”.
This came about as a result of my observation that most of Humankind, faced with the overwhelming litany of terrible social and environmental challenges, was becoming increasingly cynical and desperate. I felt that a strong message of hope in the future couldn’t hurt. Eventually this show became a novel that has been published recently, which I hope will further develop and propagate the message.
You can download an album’s worth of Bouquerel’s songs recorded in the late 80s/early 90s for free at his website. Much to my surprise, I liked their synth-pop weirdness. Some of the tunes sound like Marc Bolan produced by Conny Plank.
Bouquerel is mostly the sole songwriter, producer and musician on songs with titles like “What Shall We Do With A Drunken Spaceman” and “No Flock Of Saucers.”
His memoir, Say Hello To Jupiter, which weighs-in at an epic 446 pages, is also available on his site. I may actually order it. I want to know more about this Gallic spaceman.
“Cold Day On Mars” was released in 1990 on EP cassette and it’s pretty cool.
Here’s something from the Dangerous Minds’ archives. The original article contained a link to Charlie Is My Darling in its entirety. Unfortunately, it was removed from the web. I did manage to find this compilation of clips featuring Brian Jones excerpted from the movie. I thought you might appreciate them on the anniversary of his untimely death.
Produced by the The Rolling Stones’ manager Andrew Loog Oldham and directed by Peter Whitehead Charlie Is My Darling documents the band’s 1965 two city tour of Ireland. A somewhat haphazard affair, the film is none-the-less a fascinating glimpse into the life of The Stones on the road, backstage, performing and getting drunk. It also includes some footage of fans rioting at London’s Royal Albert Hall which was later inserted at Oldham’s behest to make the movie more commercial.
Whitehead directed one of the seminal films about the swinging sixties, Tonite Let’s All Make Love In London, and the exhilarating documentary of the infamous beat poet gathering at Royal Albert Hall, Wholly Communion. After seeing Wholly Communion, Oldham picked Whitehead to direct a freewheeling film that would compete with the success of the Beatle movies. The result was something a bit darker and rougher than anything produced by the Beatles at the time.
Charlie Is My Darling was given its premiere at the Mannheim Film Festival in 1966 when Joseph von Sternberg was Director of the Festival. He said - “When all the other films at this festival are long forgotten, this film will still be watched - as a unique document of its times.”
Filmed over three days in Dublin and Belfast, the film captures the boys in all their pristine and unspoilt pagan energy and satanic glory - soon after the release of their first big single in America - the record which established them there - “I can’t get no satisfaction.”
The passionate stage performances are finally wrecked by fans getting on the stage - the boys have to flee for their lives over railway lines when they arrive in Belfast. Scenes in the dressing room are highlighted by Keith playing acoustic Blues guitar - showing what a master he was on the guitar, and how serious he had always been about Blues music. Interviews with Charlie and Bill are very revealing - but most poignant of all is the interview with Brian Jones in which he discusses his threatened future as a Rolling Stone. Speaking only of ‘time’ and ‘insecurity of his future as a Rolling Stone’, he seemed already unconsciously aware of his fate. Did he not deliberately bring it upon himself?
The film ends with the legendary scenes of Keith and Mick drunk in the hotel ballroom - Keith playing the piano (extremely well!) and Mick doing an accurate and subversive impersonation of Elvis.”
The rights to Charlie Is My Darling and its soundtrack became entangled in legal problems when Allen Klein took over management of The Stones. Klein had a rep for being difficult (which is putting it kindly) when it came to controlling the band’s assets. So the original cut of the film was never released on video. A DVD version was released in England with a soundtrack of generic instrumental pop as background music and is basically unwatchable.
I’m a huge fan of Bollywood and Om Shanti Om is one of my favorites. It stars mega-star Shah Rukh Khan and is written and directed by famed Bollywood choreographer Farah Khan.
Like many Indian films, Om Shanti Om draws from and pays homage to Hollywood. In this clip choreographed to the song “Dhoom Taana” we see something a little rarer, not only is Hollywood celebrated but so is old Bollywood. So not only do we see scenes inspired by Vincente Minnelli’s The Pirate and the candy-colored Bye Bye Birdie, there is the wonderful recreation of elements from Bollywood classic Gumnaam and at one point legendary Indian actor Sunil Dutt is digitally inserted into the film. Fans of Om Shanti Om have recognized dozens upon dozens of references to old school Bollywood in the movie. My knowledge of Indian cinema is pretty good for a westerner, but in an industry that produces thousands of films a year, there’s no way I can possibly identify all the movies that Om Shanti Om pays tribute to.
Click on the 720p option to enjoy the video in all of its visual glory.
Jim Morrison died 41 years ago. today. Here’s a fine documentary on The Doors to commemorate this sad day in rock history.
People fear death even more than pain. It’s strange that they fear death. Life hurts a lot more than death. At the point of death, the pain is over. Yeah, I guess it is a friend.” Jim Morrison
Tom DiCillo’s When You’re Strange narrated by Johnny Depp.
It’s Ken Russell’s birthday, and what better way to celebrate the genius of British film, than to share one of his classic biopics. From 1968, here is Delius: Song of Summer, the story of a young amanuensis, Eric Fenby, and his relationship with the monstrous, blind, womanizing and syphilitic composer, Delius. Perfect material for a Russell film, but here Unkle Ken shows his mastery as an artist by creating a subtle, moving and highly effective tale of the relationship between composer and his assistant. The film was co-written by Russell and Fenby, and based on Fenby’s memoir, Delius As I Knew Him. It contains excellent central performances from former ballet dancer, Christopher Gable, and the great Northern Irish actor and founding member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Max Adrian. Song of Summer also shows why Ken Russell was such a brilliant director, and why he is still sadly missed.
Here’s a rarely seen video of Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game” directed by David Lynch in 1990. It was included on the original VHS release of Wild At Heart and hasn’t appeared on any commercially available video or DVD since.
I find this alternate video far more interesting and true to the spirit of the song than the much better known official video which was directed by Herb Ritts and therefore looks like a Calvin Klein commercial.
John Cassavetes and The Bangs (Bangles - double your pleasure, double your fun.
In 1983, Tamar Simon Hoffs, a fine filmmaker and mother of Susanna, directed The Haircut starring John Cassavetes. It was her debut as a movie director and The Haircut was shown at various prestigious film festivals the year it was made. In addition to Cassavetes, it also features The Bangs, an early incarnation of The Bangles with Susanna Hoffs, Debbi Peterson and Victoria Peterson.
From Ben Pleasants’ Swimming To Cassavetes:
Tamar Simon Hoffs had twenty four hours with John Cassavetes as a young director when she was studying directing at AFI. Twenty-four hours and in that time she did one of the greatest films Cassavetes ever starred in. The awkward silences and the hard pauses. She watched and let the camera roll. The film was The Haircut. Twenty-two minutes long. It’s from her script, not the Ring Lardner short story. It’s won a number of awards. It’s how she got Malcolm McDowell interested in her film, Red Roses and Petrol in the first place. She charmed him with her writing. It’s how she got to cut John Cassavete’s hair as a beginning director in her first film, The Haircut. Cassavetes read the script and loved the idea of doing a little film. A two-reeler. A short.
“He gave me twenty-four hours with total dedication and all his majesty as an actor and a director,” she told me. “And he’s out there.” She pointed beyond her pool. I’m not getting it.
“‘I’m yours for twenty-four hours,” he said. “Till the limo picks me up and takes me back to the studio.” She was a student then and she knew how to listen. He liked her language, the way she set up the scenes, the humor of it. He liked the idea that he could play with what she wrote. And there were good supporting actors. The coach from Cheers is the barber. The story is about the haircut of a lifetime for a big shot in the music business.
As he acted, or stripped away the actor’s tricks, Cassavetes taught her what a director should be. How to look for the moment to shut up and let the actor work. How to listen for what was inside the face of a human being giving what he really is. How to wait for the pauses that are true to life.
They all knew they had something magical in twenty-four hours. Susanna Hoffs, The Bangle who was only a Bang was in it. Her mother wanted to take her out, but Cassavetes loved it for its realness.
When it was done and he had given everything he could give, John Cassavetes stood in the street and stripped off his suit, shirt, and shoes, dropping into the back seat of the limo to return to the studio in his shorts.”
If you’re a Cassavetes fan, this will be a real treat. And twice as cool if you like, as I do, The Bangles.
Nine years after its initial release, Tommy Wiseau’s The Room continues to splay itself across theater screens with the grace and majesty of a drunk pissing against the side of a building. Midnight screenings all over the globe are attended by fans in a state of Rocky Horror Show-type fervor and the enigmatic and oh-so-goofy Wiseau is a cult star of epic magnitude.
Whether or not you’re a fan of dubstep is irrelevant when watching this video. The concept is brilliant and the hook indisputable. Enjoy.
Here’s a little snippet from a recent New York Times interview with Iggy Pop:
Many date the birth of punk rock to a show the Stooges played in London in 1972, which was seen by founding members of the Clash and the Sex Pistols. What did you think when the punks started releasing music a few years later?
I reacted to it better than I had to the hippie thing. As it developed, I couldn’t stand the sincere punks. I never believed them. Still don’t.
The sincere punks?
Like the Clash were going to make the world politically correct for everybody’s benefit — but only if you kept buying Clash records. I never really went for the righteousness. I went more for the profligate, sneering groups. I also realized that it was good that I wasn’t doing that sort of music anymore. In penile, postpubescent rock, the generation is five years; it’s not 25 years. It would have been worse if I was still knocking out stuff that sounded like my first record but not as good.
It’s interesting that you call it “penile rock,” because your penis seems central to your image. You’re known for having had a lot of sex.
I wish I could have had more.
