Highlights from My Vinyl Collection, Part 15

This is the fifteenth installment of "Highlights from My Vinyl Collection," an appreciation of great music, not necessarily rare finds or expensive imports. This is not about "deleted Smiths singles and original, not rereleased - underlined - Frank Zappa albums," as Rob Gordon so eloquently put it, though a small few select gems might appear every now and again.



Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

Neither rare, nor particularly expensive, Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is nonetheless one of the albums I value most in my collection. In making the decision to stop collecting CDs, to convert my existing CDs to digital files, and subsequently shifting my collecting focus to vinyl, I made the conscious decision to only overlap formats with those albums that were absolute 'must-haves,' that were likely to be in a personal list of 100 favorite albums. Actually, if I remember correctly, when I started making a list, as I am normally found doing at any given time, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was the first entry. I am not going to spend this time on a review of the album. I feel as though this has been done, and incredibly well, by others, especially my brother in his Treblezine review. Instead, I'd merely like to comment on how this album makes me feel, which I would argue signifies the true worth of an album, and what it means to me personally.

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot runs me through the gamut of emotions with every complete listen, at times eliciting such ebullient happiness with songs like "Heavy Metal Drummer" and "I'm the Man Who Loves You," to the utter depths of a profound sadness during "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart," "Radio Cure," "Ashes of American Flags," and "Reservations." That is one of the many powers of this album. Not only is it inventive and visionary, but it is also varied and diverse while still holding on to a central core of melodic songcraft. More so than on any of their other albums, save for a few songs on Summerteeth, Jeff Tweedy's lyrics are pure poetry. How many albums, except for maybe one by Bob Dylan, could start with the line, "I am an American aquarium drinker"? Unlike other albums, I am not often taken back to the time I first heard it. Instead, I somehow managed to keep it free from those boundaries, or the album itself managed to retain a timeless quality. YHF is as fresh and challenging today as it was when it was first heard online ten years ago, and yet it will forever be associated with a particular time and space, for good or ill.

The timing of this post was not meant to be significant, but just like the album's release, it has become so. Not only is Wilco releasing a new album soon, on September 27th, but this post is being written and posted one day before the tenth anniversary of 9/11, an event that is hard to separate from the mythology surrounding the album. Before their storied troubles with their record label, YHF was slated to be released on September 11th, and the Marina towers on the cover surely acted as an unconscious trigger in the minds of listeners to the World Trade Center Towers. Though all of this may have been coincidence, the connection seems now inseparable. Luckily, the album has transcended any confining thoughts of being associated with a historical event, like Five For Fighting's "Superman (It's Not Easy)" or Enya's "Only Time." Though we are only ten years along now in the life of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, I would predict that in as many more years, we will be treating the album with the same kind of reverence afforded to Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Pet Sounds, Astral Weeks, and Purple Rain, and it will be deserved.

Friday's Playlist: 9-9-11

Tripmaster Monkey – “Present Tense”
Gorillaz – “White Light”
Travis – “The Cage”
Michael Jackson – “Off the Wall”
Kajagoogoo – “Too Shy”
Cat Power – “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now)”
World Party – “Show Me to the Top”
Siouxsie & the Banshees – “Happy House”
Mastodon – “Blood and Thunder”
The Cult – “Wild Flower”
Information Society – “Attitude”
Happy Mondays – “Loose Fit”
Dan Wilson – “Everything Green”
Happy Mondays – “Donovan”
Here We Go Magic – “Tunnelvision”
Okkervil River – “We Need a Myth”
The Who – “Won’t Get Fooled Again”
Wild Beasts – “End Come Too Soon”
John Maus – “Streetlight”
Torche – “Out Again”
Nick Cave – “Disco 2000”
Glasser – “Treasury of We”
Crowded House – “Falling Dove”
Gomez – “Options”
Young Galaxy – “Open Your Heart”
Final Fantasy – “E for Estranged”
Natalie Merchant – “San Andreas Fault”
Dead Confederate – “Father Figure”
Patrick Wolf – “The Magic Position”
Fleetwood Mac – “Make Me a Mask”
Badly Drawn Boy – “It Came from the Ground”
Mumford & Sons – “Timshel”
Sara Watkins – “Frederick”
Pelican – “Final Breath”
Depeche Mode – “In Chains (Alan Wilder Remix)”
Vampire Weekend – “I Stand Corrected”
Kool Moe Dee – “They Want Money”
Pulp – “We are the Boys”
The Black Angels – “Bad Vibrations”
Broken Social Scene – “Chase Scene”
John Maus – “Matter of Fact”
X- “Delta 88”
The Wannadies – “Sweet Nymphet”
Fever Ray – “If I Had a Heart”
Here We Go Magic – “Moon”
Depeche Mode – “Ghost (Le Weekend Remix)”
Minus the Bear – “Summer Angel”
Orange Juice – “Poor Old Soul”
Matt Pond PA – “Summer is Coming”
Alkaline Trio – “Movin’ Right Along”
Roxy Music – “Virginia Plain”
The Other Two – “Tasty Fish”
Antony & the Johnsons – “Swanlights”
The Kinks – “Mr. Reporter”
Mike Ness – “I’m in Love with My Car”
Guy – “Groove Me”
Falco – “Helden Von Heute”
Bright Eyes – “Firewall”
Apollonia 6 – “Sex Shooter”
Kate Bush – “Walk Straight Down the Middle”
The Lonely Island – “Threw it on the Ground”
New Edition – “A Little Bit of Love (Is All it Takes)”
Suede – “Sleeping Pills”
Luscious Jackson – “Sexy Hypnotist”
The Red Crayola – “Victory Garden”
Joan Jett – “Bad Reputation”
Tom Waits – “Rain Dogs”
Devo – “March On”
Animal Collective – “Grass”
Antony & the Johnsons – “Hope There’s Someone”
Devotchka – “Sunshine”
Suede – “To the Birds”
Suede – “Waterloo”
Clint Mansell – “The Double”
The Kinks – “She’s Bought a Hat Like Princess Marina”
Phuture – “Acid Tracks”
The Tough Alliance – “Take No Heroes”
Altered Images – “Happy Birthday”
Missy Elliott – “Get Ur Freak On”
Dexy’s Midnight Runners – “I’ll Show You”
Christopher O’Riley – “True Love Waits”
Arctic Monkeys – “Love is a Laserquest”
English Beat – “Rotating Head”
New Edition – “Earth Angel”
WU LYF – “We Bros”
Mott the Hoople – “All the Young Dudes”
Ryan Adams – “Call Me on Your Way Back Home”
Wolf Parade – “Palm Road”
Digital Underground – “Freaks of the Industry”
The Go! Team – “T.O.R.N.A.D.O.”
The Magnetic Fields – “Absolutely Cuckoo”
Dum Dum Girls – “I Will Be”
X- “See How We Are”
Bruce Springsteen – “Streets of Philadelphia”
Andrew Bird – “Fake Palindromes”
Howard Jones – “Dream Into Action”
Blonde Redhead – “Suimasen”
After the Fire – “Der Kommisar”
Bon Iver – “Brackett, WI”
Billy Idol – “Hole in the Wall”
Battles – “Sweetie and Shag”
Here We Go Magic – “Fangela”
Stevie Wonder – “Evil”
Smashing Pumpkins – “Set the Ray to Jerry”
Ryan Adams & the Cardinals – “No”
Belle & Sebastian – “Write About Love”
Scritti Politti – “28-8-78”
LCD Soundsystem – “No Love Lost”
The Dream Academy – “Life in a Northern Town”
The Antlers – “Putting the Dog to Sleep”
Luscious Jackson – “Take a Ride”
Mastodon – “Quintessence”
José González – “Killing for Love”
The Kinks – “Rosie Won’t You Please Come Home”
The Drums – “Down by the Water”
Camper Van Beethoven – “Militia Song”
Black Francis – “You Can’t Break a Heart and Have It”
Jónsi – “Kolniður”
Thomas Dolby – “Radio Silence”

Films of the 60s, Part 14: What's So Funny About Peace, Love, and Understanding

“And each time I feel like this inside
There’s one thing I wanna know
What’s so funny ‘bout peace, love, and understanding…” – Elvis Costello (Nick Lowe)



I am often asking myself the same question that Nick Lowe posed and Elvis Costello so masterfully performed. Quite often, I feel like a minority in my pacifism, sense of community, and values of helping others. Rather, I feel surrounded by a rise in Ayn Rand selfish objectivism, materialism, and xenophobia, all under the umbrella of patriotism, nationalism, and faith. But, this cocktail has proved incredibly dangerous in the past, and not just ancient history, but in horrible wars within recent memory. Three films in the 60s, made during the heightened paranoia of the Cold War, all present what-if scenarios that show just how close we have come, could come, and maybe even will come to total annihilation, purely based on human fallibility. I have hope for us, but every day it wanes a little bit more.



Fail-Safe (1964, Sidney Lumet)

Sidney Lumet had early success by adapting plays into films, such as the now classic movies, 12 Angry Men and Long Day’s Journey Into Night, and his adaptation of the novel, Fail-Safe is done in much the same taut manner. Brilliant casting and a simple scenario help Fail-Safe to become supremely effective, to the point where the story has been told and re-told in many ways since. WarGames, anyone? Not to mention, the film came out at the same time as Dr. Strangelove, which presents the absurdist black comedy side to the same situation. The plot is straightforward, in which a technical malfunction causes American planes, carrying nuclear weapons, of course, to the point of no return, forced by protocol to begin World War III. The President of the United States, the U.S. Military, a host of politicians, and a particularly Machiavellian political scientist all have to deal with the consequences, doling out advice, and coming to terms with a reality about which they could have only hypothesized.

This film is as star-studded as the 2000 remake. Dom DeLuise has one of his earliest roles, and Larry Hagman plays the translator to the President most memorably. But, the two main heavyweight actors here are Henry Fonda as the President and Walter Matthau as the political scientist. Matthau is chilling in his role, saying in a somewhat cold and heartless moment at a cocktail party, defending the use of nuclear weapons, “I’m not a poet. I’m a political scientist who would rather have American culture survive than a Russian one.” I’d say that this us vs. them mentality during the time of the Cold War is a thing of the past, but the Christian vs. Islam clash of civilizations seems to have followed in its footsteps. If there is one “American” legacy it is exalting and elevating the American culture above all others, and them imposing it upon those who are different. Matthau later says, after his adversary makes the argument of retaliation against first-strike, “Would you prefer that only we were finished?” But, in an increasingly inter-connected world, what would that matter? As John Donne so eloquently wrote, “any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind.”

However, as much as the more reasonable President, played by a more open and pacifist President than I think we’ve ever had, wants to avoid all out nuclear war at any cost. As such, he and the Russian Premier are in constant contact, trying to come up with an agreeable solution. One such solution is having U.S. fighter jets shoot the rogue planes down en route. Interestingly, one of the brass objects to the decision saying that the chasing jets will run out of fuel and the pilots will freeze if they parachute. Ummm…not to be callous, but isn’t that more amenable than starting WWIII? Another interesting scene to discuss comes when the Russians manage to shoot down one of the planes and U.S. military operatives let out a cheer. A higher-up scolds them, saying, “This isn’t some damn football game!” True, and I understand his request for respect, but one can’t blame their sense of relief in the face of sure death.

The last scenes of Fail-Safe are now iconic, and could easily have inspired Lyndon B. Johnson’s infamous “Daisy Ad.” The President’s final decision in this difficult matter is shocking, but perhaps unavoidable in this particular situation. If you’d rather find out for yourself, don’t continue reading, but I’m gonna get all spoiler up in here. After all, the film is from 1964. The President offers to the Russian Premier, after one of the jets gets through and successfully bombs Moscow, to incur their own retaliation, bombing New York as an even exchange. The last few scenes show ordinarily slices of New York life, all dramatically frozen in time with a whooshing sound effect, signifying these lives being cut short. Though simply shot and presented, it is still unnerving and effective.



The War Game (1965, Peter Watkins)

The War Game is quite similar in feel to Fail-Safe in its subject matter, but quite different in its presentation. Whereas Fail-Safe is presented as a fictional drama, The War Game gets more of a punch from employing a shorter, more precise, documentary style. Clocking in at only 47 minutes, The War Game was originally to be presented on BBC television in 1965, but was pulled from broadcast at the last minute due to being “too horrifying” for the British viewing public. My question becomes, if the television version is too horrifying, why is it acceptable in real life? Through graphic dramatization and man-on-the-street type interviews, Peter Watkins presents his take on the dangers of nuclear proliferation, nationalism, and all out war.

Many of the interviewees end up saying what I used to say as a grade schooler in earthquake drills and the continue remnants of Cold War exercises, “That isn’t going to happen.” As much as we hope that humanity avoids such extremes, we have to accept the reality that human nature is also violent, paranoid, and self-serving. We have to rise above our base instincts. The movie is unflinching in the bluntness of its facts and information, narrating what exactly would happen in the event of a nuclear war. Most of the interviews show how misinformed people really are about the facts, something I think is rampant in this country with the range of “news” media available and the idea that all news is tied into ratings. Statements from ecumenical councils at the Vatican are equally misled, saying that they believe nuclear weapons are used with care and responsibility.

The most effective portions of The War Game are the images, mostly of children, suffering in the fallout, going blind, and generally falling to illnesses caused by radioactivity. It goes even further, explaining that lawlessness, riots, and civil unrest will naturally occur in the aftermath. It is incredibly realistic, at least for the time, and is especially effective considering it is presented as if it is a documentary. In a moment that should shake even the steeliest of souls, children are asked what they want to be when they grow up. They respond, “I don’t want to be nuthin’.”



It Happened Here (1966, Kevin Brownlow & Andrew Mollo)

It Happened Here is another film shot in a documentary style, but rather than a “what if” scenario for a future event, this is a “what if” for a past event. Now, speculative alternate histories are commonplace, but this one was somewhat based on actual events, just writ large. The idea here is that the Axis Powers won World World II and took over England. But, the controversial aspect of the film is not just that the Germans won, but that some Brits became willing participants in their occupation, like Vichy France. While we might consider this fiction, it was, but for a few pivotal moments, not far from happening. In fact, the film is not called, It Could Have Happened Here, but It Happened Here. Why? Either to make it more real, or perhaps as a reference to events that happened in the Channel Islands, in which the occupied did become willing participants in their occupation.

It took quite a long time for this filmmaker to bring his vision to the screen, but the results are quite powerful. As much as we’d like to think that we’d all be patriotic resistance fighters, the truth is that people are necessarily different. Some will be driven by survival instincts, while others may be easily swayed by propaganda. Again, we can see this in our own current culture as polls often find the population to be grossly misinformed by the facts and wholly swayed by partisan rhetoric. To think that this couldn’t affect us in wartime is ludicrous. The imagery is powerful, showing newsreel footage with a hybrid English and Nazi symbol in the title cards. We see shots of little boys goose-stepping without realizing what that symbolizes or signifies, merely enacting a game of “monkey see, monkey do.” There are startling discussions of different forms of governments and economies, discussions that still continue today.

We mostly follow one woman who is resistant to the occupation. She becomes a nurse, going to an employment office, saying, “I’ve decided to join.” She is told in response, “We don’t accept your decisions. You accept ours.” As the film progresses, her perspective changes. She slowly starts to adopt the Nazi regime, even to the point of showing disgust with a group of partisan rebels, saying that they are “murderers.” This film can take us into many different discussions, not merely relegated to that of bowing to occupational forces, but also of more modern disagreements about clashes of philosophies and ideas. The world has become a more complex place, increasingly connected. It has become a world where governments don’t follow one overarching philosophy. America is an obvious example, being a combination of democratic, capitalist, and socialist policies, even though some would have it be entirely ruled by unregulated, free-market capitalism. There is dissension in this country about government. We are possibly more fractured than ever before. Each of us seems to have a “perfect” idea of what our government should look like, but are some of us traitors, and others patriots? I’d say these words have begun to lose their power, but they are interesting questions to ponder.

Sunday's Playlist: 9-4-11

Laura Veirs – “Sleeper in the Valley”
F#$@ed Up – “Inside a Frame”
Stephin Merritt – “You Are Not My Mother and I Want to Go Home”
Joshua Radin & Schuyler Fisk - “Paperweight”
Hooray for Earth – “Realize It’s Not the Sun”
Born Ruffians – “Jimmy Jimmy”
Yeasayer – “Rome”
Luce Drayton – “To Be Loved (Disco Citizens R&D Edit)”
Ray LaMontagne – “Within You”
Childish Gambino – “Freaks and Geeks”
The Jayhawks – “Keith and Quentin”
The Radio Dept – “David”
Split Enz – “Clumsy”
Howard Jones – “New Song”
Alice in Chains – “Hate to Feel”
Ladytron – “Blue Jeans”
Split Enz – “Hard Act to Follow”
Matt & Kim – “Turn This Boat Around”
X – “We’re Desperate”
Mike Ness – “Ball and Chain (Honky Tonk)”
Viva Voce – “The Future Will Destroy You”
Scott Walker – “Mathilde”
This Mortal Coil – “I Must Have Been Blind”
KISS – “Love Theme from KISS”
Bright Eyes – “Spent on Rainy Days”
Sweet Apple – “Crawling Over Bodies”
Ramin Djawadi – “Winter is Coming”
Health – “Die Slow”
Galaxie 500 – “Temperature’s Rising”
Prince – “Sister”
Billy Idol – “Baby Talk”
A Place to Bury Strangers – “Keep Slipping Away”
The Morning Benders – “Cold War”
Thomas Dolby – “She Blinded Me With Science”
Metric – “Gold Guns Girls”
Public Enemy – “Night of the Living Baseheads”
The National – “John’s Star”
The Knife – “Heartbeats”
Better than Ezra – “Cry in the Sun”
The Smiths – “How Soon is Now?”
The Smithereens – “If the Sun Doesn’t Shine”
Sufjan Stevens – “Impossible Soul”
Ladytron – “Tomorrow”
The Other Two – “The Greatest Thing”
Matt & Kim – “Ice Melts”
Luscious Jackson – “Lover’s Moon”
R.E.M. – “Underneath the Bunker”
Scott Walker – “Through a Long and Sleepless Night”
Baroness – “War, Wisdom and Rhyme”
Toad the West Sprocket – “Pray Your Gods”
Frightened Rabbit – “The Twist”
The Boxer Rebellion – “Cowboys and Engines”
Loose Fur – “Chinese Apple”
Toni Basil – “Mickey”

Films of the 60s, Part 13: The Beatles

“Gimme sympathy
After all this is gone
Who’d you rather be
The Beatles or the Rolling Stones
Oh seriously
You're going to make mistakes, you're young
Come on baby, play me something
Like "Here Comes the Sun."" – Metric



One can’t really discuss the 60s without mentioning the Beatles and their impact on pop culture. The 60s belonged to the Beatles. Sure, the Stones, Dylan, and the Beach Boys could all stake a claim, but the Beatles dominated the music scene in a career that exactly spanned that decade. The 60s music scene was practically defined by the Beatles’ influence. Are you getting the picture? I don’t understand people who don’t love the Beatles. I really don’t. I nearly lost my mind when I heard a customer say that she loved the film, Across the Universe, and was glad to hear that the songs were sung by people who had “voices that were so much better than the Beatles.” Yeah, it almost got ugly. I used to think that I had to choose a favorite Beatles era, early, mid, or late Beatles until I realized that I could appreciate the lump sum and all of the changes in between. As much as I love the Beatles’ music, I could never replicate what it was like to experience the Beatles craze while they were active. These films, however, help open up a window into that experience.



A Hard Day’s Night (1964, Richard Lester)

The Beatles’ first foray into film turned out to be just as legendary as the band. Now considered not only one of the best music films, but also one of the most beloved films in general, A Hard Day’s Night was the logical next step for a band who was dominating the charts. In fact, just a few months before, the Beatles held twelve spots on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at the same time. But, could they act? The answer to that question is a definite yes, as exhibited by the humor, charm, and distinct personality of each member. With a simple plotline, involving the group taking a train from their hometown of Liverpool to London to appear on a television show, John, Paul, George, and Ringo are allowed to be themselves and make it up as they go along.

Though the press tagged them with nicknames such as “the quiet one” and “the funny one,” this film proves that they were all funny. The scenes with the band responding to questions from reporters is a perfect example of their dry wit. A reporter asks John, “How did you find America?” to which he responds, “Turned left at Greenland.” When asked “What do you call that hairstyle you’re wearing?,” George answers, “Arthur.” Ringo gets a pivotal role in the film, with a somewhat realistic and meta look at how he was most likely not the most loved by fans. That is turned on its ear with the arrival of his actual fan mail. Ringo gets some alone time in the movie, with the very moving and emotional “This Boy” as his theme lf loneliness. And that brings us to the main selling point of A Hard Day’s Night, which is the music of the Beatles.

This wasn’t just a leap into acting; this was a showcase for the Beatles as all-around performers. I’d say it is a long form music video, but it is far more than that. With a balance of upbeat hits such as the title track, “She Loves You,” “I Should Have Known Better,” “Can’t Buy Me Love,” and the sweet ballads, “If I Fell,” and “And I Love Her” showcase the band’s versatility. Sure, Elvis had screaming fans in the 50s, and lots of 50s musicians became pop culture idols, but the entire world had seen nothing like the Beatles before. By 1964, the Beatles didn’t just belong to England, or even just England and the U.S. They weren’t just pop stars, or even pop stars who became film stars. The Beatles were icons. The Beatles are icons. A Hard Day’s Night merely put the stamp on that claim. Not only have countless bands since copied the Beatles, but filmmakers have also continually divined inspiration from the film’s scenes and images. It is difficult for even the most discriminating of music and film fans to not fall in love with the Beatles in A Hard Day’s Night.



Help! (1965, Richard Lester)

Made just one short year after A Hard Day’s Night, Help! diverged as much from it as it tried to emulate it and recapture its success. Rather than a simple “mockumentary” plot, following the Beatles in an adventure that could have easily been taken from their actual lives, Help! attempts to create a 60s era spy plot, but in an albeit goofy, nonsensical, and stoned manner. Yes, the legend goes that the Beatles were high during most of the making of this movie. It somehow neither adds nor detracts from the finished product. Sure, the idea of the Beatles being targeted by a Thuggee cult is somewhat the result of a late night smokeout, you know, the kind where you think everything you say is brilliant and should be written down, but the director still amazingly managed to pull it together.

Just like A Hard Day’s Night, the music in Help! takes center stage. One can pay very little attention to the crazy plot, concentrating only on the songs. I’ve always thought Help!, at least as an album, to be incredibly underrated in the Beatles catalog. “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away” alone makes it an instant classic. The difference in the complexity of the songs, in the maturity, in just one short year, is astounding. I’ve always thought that when you look at the Beatles’ first few singles as compared to the last few, there is a marked difference in style. But, one can detect great changes in an even shorter period of time. We can argue forever about whether drugs or alcohol aid the creative process, but the Beatles might be the easiest example to put into the “pro” column. But, it turns out, this movie’s craziness can’t be blamed on drugs, or even the Beatles, but instead on Richard Lester’s prescience of the future of hero comedies. After all, it was only one year later that Batman premiered in all its campy glory.

Help! is definitely campy, shlocky, ridiculous, and entertaining at every turn. Despite this, there is also some extraordinary filmmaking going on. The skiing scene, set to “Ticket to Ride,” is phenomenal. There is a fantastic little piece of work in which the camera views the band through a ski pole basket, as if we were watching them through a ViewMaster. The Beatles’ apartment, with four separate outer doors that all lead to one large communal area, is another memorable and clever visual gag. Help! might not be on the same level as A Hard Day’s Night, and, in trying to outdo it somewhat misses the mark, but it is another great showcase for the mythology of the Beatles, the people and their music.



Magical Mystery Tour (1967, Bernard Knowles)

This might be cheating a little. Magical Mystery Tour wasn’t really a theatrical film. As an alternative to touring, which the Beatles no longer wanted to do, they decided to remain the public eye by creating television specials and films. The live performance of “All You Need is Love” is just one example of that effort. Magical Mystery Tour is another one, an hour long special that is best described as a prototype for an extended music video. The copy I saw, which is probably the best that can be found, was of incredibly poor quality. The reason for this is most likely because it was horribly panned upon its first airing and thus maybe no one thought it would be worth preserving. History tells a different story.

Falling in between the iconic albums, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and the self-titled White Album, it is hard to say it measures up to these classics, but there are some great songs here. “Fool on the Hill” and the title track are just two examples. But, the real gems are “Your Mother Should Know,” a song written specifically for the film to fit into a more “stately” choreographed section, and “I Am the Walrus,” containing nonsensical lyrics written by John Lennon that were meant to confound those who were studying lyrical content. There is no discussing the later era of the Beatles without touching on “I Am the Walrus.” I’ve read that this video performance of the song is one of the only known in existence given that they had stopped touring. That alone is reason enough to watch this short film. The nonsensical lyrics make me think of one of my high school English teachers. A friend of mine, skeptical about the teacher’s interpretation of poetry, gave her a nonsense poem he had written to see what she would say about it. But, the truth is, that doesn’t prove anything. The beauty of my friend’s poem, and of “I Am the Walrus,” is that interpretation is in the mind of the audience. That is why we are still talking about the lyrical content of “I Am the Walrus” some 40 plus years later.

There are also some scenes that lead us to believe that the Beatles wanted this special to be more than just a stopgap measure between albums to release music. One can see that the band really made an effort to produce something artistic. The instrumental piece, “Flying,” is part and parcel to this effort. While some may see it as a weird waste, or an overlong segue, it is really something to behold, visually and sonically. Then there are the comedy segments. There is a really strange portion in which a waiter using a shovel serves Ringo’s supposed Aunt spaghetti. The waiter, played by John Lennon, is a dead ringer for Eric Idle, making it appear like a Monty Python sketch in more than one way. Making another tie to Monty Python, and a bridge to a future indie rock band, there is the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, fronted by funny man, Neil Innes, singing a song called, wait for it, the now famously titled, “Death Cab for Cutie.” What these scenes were meant to accomplish or the purpose they were meant to serve is beyond me, as they don’t quite fit in with this “video album,” but they are not entirely unwelcome.

As a last note, I’ve always debated the “real” stories behind the origins of Beatles lore. For instance, it has been asserted that “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” was based on a drawing by John’s son, Julian, and not from the initials, LSD. That being the official story, who is to say that Julian didn’t hear a lot of chatter around the house about LSD and incorporated it into his drawing? The same can be said for the title track of this film. “Roll up” is the first exhortation from the song. The band claims that it recalls the carnival barkers of old, but it is very difficult to avoid association with marijuana. All I’m saying is that there were probably a lot of reasons for the band to avoid admitting drug use at the time, but we’ve now moved on. We’ve learned that lots of writers drank and did drugs. Do we judge the Beatles’ work differently now that they’ve admitted some drug use? I’d argue absolutely not. Magical Mystery Tour might be a drug-fueled fever dream, but it has a hell of a band doing the soundtrack.

Friday's Playlist: 9-2-11

The National – “Mistaken for Strangers”
Smashing Pumpkins – “Suffer”
The Cult – “Spiritwalker”
Falco – “Maschine Brennt”
The Kinks – “Brainwashed”
Sufjan Stevens – “Let’s Hear That String Part Again, Because I Don’t Think They Heard It All the Way Out in Bushnell”
Bruce Springsteen – “The Promise”
Hot Hot Heat – “Bandages”
Goldfrapp – “Head First”
Mogwai – “George Square Thatcher Death Party”
Daniel Martin Moore – “Dark Road”
The Bird and the Bee – “La La La”
The Shins – “Plenty is Never Enough”
Gang Gang Dance – “∞ ∞ ∞”
Eagles – “Take it to the Limit”
Devo – “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”
Depeche Mode – “Freestate (Clark Remix)”
Eksi Ekso – “The Pilot and the Pod”
Sons & Daughters – “Rose Red”
The Flaming Lips – “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt.1 (KCRW)”
Ruby – “Paraffin”
Kylesa – “Forsaken”
A Flock of Seagulls – “The Fall”
The Jesus & Mary Chain – “It’s So Hard”
Galaxie 500 – “Parking Lot”
New Edition – “Can You Stand the Rain”
Delta Spirit – “Ransom Man”
David Bowie – “Hole in the Ground”
Pixies – “Alec Eiffel”
The Dears – “Degeneration Street”
RJD2 – “A Beautiful Mine”
Gruff Rhys – “Vitamin K”
Laura Veirs – “Silo Song”
Childish Gambino / MC DJ – “Hear”
Crystal Castles – “Doe Deer”
No Age – “Skinned”
Matt & Kim – “Lightspeed”
The Police – “Synchronicity II”
Hall & Oates – “Every Time You Go Away”
Smashing Pumpkins – “Sweet Sweet”
Smashing Pumpkins – “Marquis in Spades”
Health – “Eat Flesh (Crystal Castles Remix)”
Jesu – “Fools”
The Acorn – “White Heat (Silken Laumann Remix)”
Iron & Wine – “Your Fake Name is Good Enough For Me”
Oingo Boingo – “Only a Lad”
Def Leppard – “Bringin’ On the Heartbreak (Live)”
Old 97s – “Let the Idiot Speak”
Local H – “Smothered in Hugs”
Prince – “Sea of Everything”
Ministry – “Breathe”
Clearlake – “Winterlight”
Dan Wilson – “All Will Be Well”
The Weird Sisters – “Magic Works”
The Go-Go’s – “It’s Everything but Party Time”
X- “See How We Are”
U2 – “Miss Sarajevo”
Fugazi – “Provisional”
Jay-Z – “99 Problems”
Christopher O’Riley – “Thinking About You”
Wilco – “Reservations”
The Other Two – “Selfish (The East Village Vocal)”
Mogwai – “How to be a Werewolf”
R.E.M. – “Catapult (Demo)”
David Bowie – “Golden Years”
X- “In This House That I Call Home”
KISS – “Do You Love Me”
Bad Lieutenant – “Summer Days on Holiday”
Health – “Heaven (Narctrax Rmx)”
Beastie Boys – “Here’s a Little Something For Ya”
Broken Social Scene – “Romance to the Grave”
The Mission U.K. – “Heat”
El Debarge – “Real Love (House Mix Radio Edit)”
Here We Go Magic – “Backwards Time”
Dios Malos – “Everyday”
Suede – “Popstar”
Fleetwood Mac – “I Believe My Time Ain’t Long”
R.E.M. – “Hyena”
Daft Punk – “Adagio for TRON”
The Walkmen – “In the New Year”
Echo & the Bunnymen – “Nothing Lasts Forever”
Of Montreal – “Famine Affair”
Oingo Boingo – “Just Another Day”
Black Tusk – “Embrace the Madness”
The Rosebuds – “Cover Ears”
Los Campesinos! – “In Medias Res”
Joanna Newsom – “Sprout and the Bean”
Ministry – “Abortive”
Röyksopp – “Happy Up Here”
Jaydiohead – “Change Order”
Plexi – “Magnet”
Jason Segel – “Dracula’s Lament”
Kate Bush – “Rubberband Girl”
Janelle Monae – “Mushrooms and Roses”
Peter, Bjorn, and John – “Lies”
The Smithereens – “I Wanna Be Your Man”
A Place to Bury Strangers – “Ego Death”
The 88 – “Love You Anytime”
Iron & Wine – “Upward Over the Mountain”
Danger Mouse & Danielle Luppi – “The Rose With a Broken Neck”
George Thorogood – “Delaware Slide”
Eagles – “Life in the Fast Lane”
Obits – “Standards”
Wilco – “Via Chicago”
Drive Like Jehu – “Turn it Off”
Mike Ness – “Once a Day”
Gang Starr – “Gotta Get Over (Taking Loot)”
Suede – “Killer”
Blue Scholars – “Fou Lee”
Fleetwood Mac – “Everywhere”
Art Brut – “Sealand”
Titus Andronicus – “A More Perfect Union”
The White Stripes – “Jolene”
Bad Lieutenant – “Split the Atom”
Kylie Minogue – “Can’t Get You Out of My Head”
P.J. Harvey – “Rid of Me”
Gomez – “X-Rays”
Peter, Bjorn, and John – “Dig a Little Deeper”
Genesis – “That’s All”
The Cure – “Plainsong”
Galaxie 500 – “Here She Comes Now”
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – “Far From Me”

Films of the 60s, Part 12: Night of the living dead at last...

“We are awakened with the axe
Night of the living dead at last
They have begun to shake the dirt
Wiping their shoulders from the earth.” – Sufjan Stevens



Zombies. Along with vampires, werewolves, and all sorts of other beasties, zombies are seeing a big resurgence in popularity. It seems there are just as many people from one fringe element talking about a zombie apocalypse as there are from another fringe element talking about the rapture. There are connoisseurs of zombie films, books, and television shows (just listen to the Nerdist podcast for proof). But, since starting as a Haitian Creole or West African voodoo reanimation subject, the concept of zombie has changed with each retelling. I love the above quotation from Sufjan Stevens' song, "They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back From the Dead!! Ahhhh!!" The last line makes me think that zombies are just cool, like Jay-Z, just wiping the dirt from their shoulders. Though they have become somewhat cool, luckily, none of them sparkle…yet.



The Last Man on Earth (1964, Ubaldo Ragona & Sidney Salkow)

This is somewhat the progenitor of most later zombie films. One looks to this as a godfather the way that people look to Iggy Pop as the godfather of punk and Neil Young as the godfather of grunge. The Last Man on Earth is based on Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend, which subsequently became the basis for other later apocalyptic films such as The Omega Man, and I Am Legend with Will Smith. The idea behind it is simple, and is best expressed by the title of this 1964 version of the story, that some kind of pandemic has struck the Earth, and that one man, somehow immune, is the very last unaffected person. The Matheson novel and this adaptation of it, are often credited with being the inspiration for the current trend of a “zombie apocalypse” that is now so often seen in pop culture, such as The Walking Dead. Purists may balk, saying that both Matheson and Vincent Price’s character, Dr. Robert Morgan, both say “vampires” instead of zombies. Well, phooey! The depiction of the “beings” is much closer to zombies than vampires. They just didn’t have the verbiage for it yet. Plus, as I’ll get into later, I don’t think they bothered to make a difference in the film.

There are things I greatly appreciate and things I absolutely have a hard time with about The Last Man on Earth. The initial shots of bodies lying strewn everywhere in cityscapes were impressive for the time. Morgan’s rituals are smart and make one really think about what we do in a similar situation. Of course, I believe these are all taken directly from the book. For one, he keeps his own calendar on the wall. After all, no one is around to make new calendars, right? Logic! He keeps a map of the city, divides it into quadrants, and then goes out on supply runs and scouting missions, one at a time. However, there are just as many gaps in logic as there are overt displays of it. For one, though Morgan is supposedly unaffected because he was bitten by a vampire bat, and thus assumes that this “plague” is one that has caused “vampirism,” many of the standard attributes of vampires are missing. Sure, he puts rings of garlic on the doors and makes wooden stakes out of dowels with his lathe (how convenient; and where is he getting power?), but the remaining “life” forms around him shuffle slowly and somewhat mindlessly like zombies, and they don’t have to be invited in, they can just break into any place they choose. They are a somewhat sloppy hybrid of the zombie and the vampire, with only a few characterizations of each to hold onto.

The Last Man on Earth is as lethargically paced as the zombies themselves and, though I usually enjoy Vincent Price’s “legendary” appearances (forgive the Matheson pun), he is, as Matheson himself claimed, miscast. His typically affected style of speech and mannerisms causes what should be panicked rants and freakouts to change into a completely detached and disaffected reaction. Sure, he’s a scientist, but he’s still human, albeit the “last one.” As a result of both his own pace as well as the ineffectual zombie shuffle, we get to see one of the least consequential zombie fights ever. To enjoy this film, it is best not to get bogged down in the folklore as most of us tend to do in this day and age. If we look at it as an allegory or even a simple sci-fi / horror adventure tale, we are sure to get more out of it. Though some of the logic is sound and some inescapably wrong, there are some moments that can be forgiven, such as when we see the flashback in which Morgan buries his wife instead of burning her per government order, having to learn for himself the consequences and realities of the plague. In the end, it has the obvious makings of a great zombie film, with elements that would be used again and again over time, merely improving the formula.



The Plague of the Zombies (1966, John Gilling)

As some might expect from a British film, the Hammer Horror picture, The Plague of the Zombies, is more rooted in actual religious and mythological origins as well as providing rich literary allegory. As the title suggests, there is a supposed “plague” that is wiping out the townspeople in a small Cornish village. An elderly doctor, Sir James Forbes, is summoned, arriving with his daughter, Sylvia. Their investigation begins with the attempted disinterment and autopsies of several of the recently deceased, only to find their efforts continually blocked. When they finally do get their chance to dig up some graves, they find the coffins empty. In the meantime, we are introduced to a wealthy aristocrat named Squire Clive Hamilton who happens to lead fox hunts and has a bunch of rude, unruly, and priggish “henchmen” who act like fraternity brothers.

As it turns out, there really is no plague, despite the title. Hamilton, who had spent time in Haiti learning voodoo magic rituals, is using the dark arts to summon villagers to his property, where they are sacrificed and prepped to return from the dead as unwitting slaves in his mines. As such, the film is making not so subtle commentary on British Colonialism (with Hamilton’s exploitation of Haitian practices for his own gain), slavery, and exploitation (with the rich Hamilton continually subverting the poor townspeople into mindless slaves). Even the camera angles in this film mean something, consistently showing either down or up angles to display the power that one group has over another. The actors are routinely shown on different height levels to further emphasize these points. As with most Hammer Horror films, the imagery is stark and brilliant. When blood is shown, as it often seems to be, it is a shockingly bright red, almost supernaturally bright. In other words, the filmmaking is top-notch, stylistic, and visually striking. It is definitely worth seeing for many different reasons.

As for the zombies themselves, and the reactions to the zombies, the film finds a middle ground. There are very few zombie attacks, fights, or even danger to most of the townspeople other than those we see specifically targeted, such as daughter Sylvia. The few zombies that are shown, however, are frightening figures. One in particular looks like a Solomon Grundy-type character, big, oafish, and terrifyingly strong. My favorite moment comes when the two doctors in the story, one the town physician and the other, Dr. Forbes, watch as a young woman in her coffin goes ashen, rises from the grave and comes toward them. “Zombie…,” says Dr. Forbes, in a way that is quite “matter of fact.” She is quickly dispatched by having her head cut off with a shovel. In other words, it was awesome. They are then attacked by a horde of zombie monks! What could be better? The Plague of the Zombies was startlingly good, despite being still slightly before the entire zombie renaissance, which is where we are headed next on our tour of the undead.



Night of the Living Dead (1968, George A. Romero)

This is it. This is the granddaddy of all zombie films. This is the one that most point to as the ultimate classic, the untouchable slice of zombie perfection, and the movie against which all other zombie films are measured. I’d have to agree. By some odd happenstance of luck, or lack thereof, this was the first time that I had ever seen this classic film. I’ve seen a lot of great films, but somehow many of the horror classics eluded my grasp. One of the most amazing things about this film is how perfectly balanced it is. On an incredibly low budget, director George A. Romero manages to jump right into the action, have smart dialogue where it is needed, and completely ramps up the danger. One gets the sense that this is what would happen were zombies to suddenly appear in our midst. The zombies are, in fact, introduced both nonchalantly and in a way that was surprisingly dangerous. Young couple Barbra and Johnny spot a shuffling man in a cemetery and, while joking about it, are attacked.

Barbra flees the scene, somewhat unaware that she is leaving Johnny for dead, encountering a farmhouse, and subsequently, Ben. Played by Duane Jones, Ben is the type of hero we all admire, aspire to be, or at least hope is on our side when the shit goes down. He is a badass, taking down zombies in one minute and calmly rationalizing what their next move will be in the next. In fact, one of the things I absolutely love about Night of the Living Dead is the actual reasoned debate between the characters about logical places to hide. Rather than simply having dialogue that merely propels the action (i.e., “Let’s split up!” or “Let’s hide in here!”), the characters here actually discuss their situation logically, thus inspiring recent debates about actual zombie apocalypse plans, including what weapons to use, what to wear as protection, and what places would be best to use as long or short term shelter.

For audiences at that time, the violence and gore of Night of the Living Dead was shocking. Guess what? It still is. But, I loved every minute of it. I don’t know when the whole trope of the eating of flesh or brains became commonplace, but it was certainly going on by this time. The special effects are now considered legendary and, considering the disgusting realism, it is easy to see why. One of the most entertaining as well as shocking moments comes when a character you least expect becomes a zombie and does the most absolutely dreadful, disgusting, and chilling things imaginable. The way this movie was made, relying on a shoestring budget, is fantastic. Though the zombies are slow and shuffling, we get to see that if and when they do reach you, it will not be pleasant, or as easily escapable as Vincent Price’s “vampires.” The lack of music and the echoed screams only ratchet up the fear and tension, which were already high to begin with.

Because of the timing of this film, and possibly due to Romero’s planned consideration, Night of the Living Dead is seen as an allegory to the violence of the Vietnam War. Just as couple Barbra and Johnny were arrogantly and fearlessly provoking someone where they shouldn’t have, the U.S. went to war in a similar arrogant and fearless manner, completely unprepared for the new danger that awaited them. Some also see the film as being commentary on racism, especially considering the nature of the film’s end, which I will not spoil for anyone who still hasn’t seen it. After all, it took me until recently to finally get the opportunity. Not many films can pull all of these elements together in such a successful fashion, and fewer still able to do it with such a small budget. But, sometimes limitations require creative solutions that make the final product much better than originally anticipated. This certainly seems the case with Night of the Living Dead, the zombie film to trump all zombie films.