Music, movies, books, and comic strips.
The Bitch is Back.
Michael Berube on Elton John. Yes, that's right. Michael Berube. Elton John. And Goodbye Yellow Brick Road as catastrophic moment in the history of a promising rock and roller. 32 years behind the curve but hipper than now.
The Man in Black.
Lindsay Beyerstein listens hard to a song she dislikes re-defined by the Man she loves. (She does so. Proof's on her t-shirt.) The song's "If I Give My Soul" by Billy Joe Shaver, "a maudlin song about another sinner coming to Jesus," says the blogger in black, "Shaver implies that of course Jesus would do this sinner's laundry (or its metaphorical equivalent), all the guy has to do is ask."
But Cash turns the song inside out and upside down until it's not about a man's salvation. It's about his damnation.
"Cash sees the singer as a truly tragic figure--a man who desperately wants to atone for his sins but who doesn't understand that the same shallow, manipulative nature that ruined his life will also damn his immortal soul."
The lady has back
In the wake of the Oscars, zhakora at 2/10 reflects on the talent of the woman who'd have won for Best Actress if zhakora had her way and it was a just and perfect world---Kate Winslet, whom zhakora's admired since Heavenly Creatures. She has words in praise for some other actresses she believes have earned more attention than they've gotten.
Russell Crowe is a hack
That's what George at A Girl and a Gun concludes, after a dismaying look at GQ's list of the best movie actors of our time. Johnny Depp and Nicolas Cage don't impress him either. Don't even ask about Leonardo DiCaprio. Tony Leung, though, now there, says George, is an actor! And he has a list of some others, many of whom American audiences won't be familiar with, to their loss.
American Stars and Bars (You didn't think all these subheads were going to rhyme, did you?)
Bill Altreuter has read a biography of Neil Young and he thinks it's worth your time to read it too. Shakey by Jimmy McDonough. It's not a perfect book, Bill concludes. No discography. No attention given to the critical response to Young's work. And Bill thinks the biographer himself couldn't keep up with Young's wild life and grew exhausted and collapsed three quarters of the way through. But Young himself is an irresistable character and force of nature. Like a hurricane, so to speak.
Gonna party like it's 1999
The crew at Lawyers, Guns and Money have been busy, but they've found time to make lists, lots of lists, about the best movies of arbitrarily chosen chunks of time. Most recently Rob and Scott picked what they think were the best movies of the 1990s. Doesn't appear Dave's chipped in his two cents on this one yet. Here's Scott's list. Here's Rob's.
But Redbeard at Vague Nihlism focuses on one year, 1999, making his case that the best movies of that decade came out just before the millennium turned. As Rob says, he makes a good case.
There you go. If all that isn't enough for you, and I'm sure it isn't, you're a blog reader, you wouldn't be one if your appetite for the truth that is beauty and the beauty that is truth that only blogs provide wasn't insatiatiable, Neddie Jingo rhapsodizes on Pogo and Coturnix and Chase review Robots.
Slight correction - Neil Young book - it's Jimmy McDonough...
Posted by: j. bryant | Tuesday, March 22, 2005 at 08:25 AM
Shoot, shoot, shoot! I goofed! Thanks for catching that, Jill. It's all fixed now.
Posted by: Lance | Tuesday, March 22, 2005 at 08:38 AM
Elton's Yellow Brick Road album is the soundtrack to my freshman college year.
Posted by: Connie | Tuesday, March 22, 2005 at 09:48 AM
I just bought "Madman across the Water" -- driving home in the rain, "Razar Face" was playing loud through the speakers. Not sure what Michael Berube would say about that song...but it....was... awesome! Other great Elton songs: 1) Levon, 2) Feel like a bullet (in the gun of Robert Ford), 3) The greatest discovery..and so many more. I'm surprised he didn't talk about Bowie's "Hunky Dory" --
Posted by: Lori | Tuesday, March 22, 2005 at 01:11 PM
One beautiful spring afternoon in the early 90s, when I was still teaching, I was walking across campus and as I passed by a dorm where the windows were all open I heard blaring from somebody's speakers "Bennie and the Jets." Goodbye Yellow Brick Road was part of the soundtrack of another generation of college kids' freshman year! Kids who weren't born when it was released!
Every few years for most of his career Elton has managed to throw a new song at the pop charts and make it stick and a whole new group of kids run out to buy all his old albums...or now download the best songs off them.
He'll be part of the soundtrack of our grandchildren's college days, I think. When we're in our rockers we'll hear him singing:
"I'm still standing! Yeah, yeah, yeah!"
Posted by: Lance | Wednesday, March 23, 2005 at 08:26 AM
M. Berube's essay has forever tarnished a loved song, "Grey Seal" -- now I'm always going to think about it sounding like a 'motivational corporate video' :) (ok, it kinda does) -- Also, everyone slammed "Bennie and the Jets" -- I still play it really loud when it comes on the radio! Everyone pretty much slammed Elton all the way....maybe that's why he comes across so pompous and defensive when I see him interviewed.
I once read a Billy Joel interview where he was SO sad over how the critics never gave him any credit. He is what he is. I felt bad for him. If I would've written "Vienna" -- I would proud of it!
My son just turned 13 on Saturday -- and suddenly, within the last few months, he's asking me all about The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Clapton, The Ramones, Rolling Stones, etc.
So, now his walls are covered in their posters and their music's blaring from his new stereo.
And I had to laugh a little when we got into a *little* argument last night over how long his hair is!
Posted by: Lori | Wednesday, March 23, 2005 at 02:01 PM