Tuesday, May 26, 2009

You Might Be a Republican...

...If you think Robin Hood is a villain and Ebeneezer Scrooge is a Hero.

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Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Read this cartoon

I hope this link works, because it shows how, with one simple cartoon, Tom Tomorrow can fatally skewer both the "ticking bomb" defense of torture and the "24" torture fantasy.

The greatest Tom Tomorrow cartoon since I don't know when.

Wednesday, May 06, 2009

"Let it Roll" Track List Now Official...

...and it's the same track list as the one Amazon posted. (Here's the press release.)

I put the songs together on a playlist. My thoughts:

1) Ol' Harp is right, the live Beatles Covers from "Concert for Bangladesh" are the low points of the album. I have to admit they're the big draw for the people who are only familiar with George's Beatles work, but there are better live versions of these songs, and there are better live numbers by George, period. "Guitar" is vibe killer, "Something" is meh, and only the sincere acoustic rendition of "Here Comes the Sun," is passable, even if George's voice is a little off-key and weak.

2) The bulk of the album comes from four albums: three each from "Concert For Bangladesh," "Cloud Nine," and "Brainwashed," and a whopping five from "All Things Must Pass." Aside from that there are three indispensable hit singles ("Give Me Love," "All Those Years Ago," and "Blow Away," which wasn't that big a hit, but it's almost impossible to find a George fan who doesn't like this song) and two non-album singles.

3) I have to admit, it's a pretty good listen. There are some surprises - like "Rising Sun," "I don't Want to Do it," and "This is Love" - which I love but didn't expect to see, and while I wouldn't have selected three of the "All Things Must Pass" numbers, they all sound good.

So yeah, this isn't a perfect collection, but it's the best one George has ever had. I intend to buy it.

And yes, I've pretty much admitted I already have all of the songs on my Itunes. What's your point? ;-)

Tuesday, May 05, 2009

What Slays in Vegas...



This is described as lost test footage for a never made Willis O'Brien film about a giant mutated Baboon which rampages across Nevada.

What's really creepy are the two miniature elephantine trunks that wriggle on the creature's face. Not as an expert design as Ray Harryhausen was putting out then, but freaky in an unforgettable way.

The animation is credited to Pete Peterson. Read more here.

Monday, May 04, 2009

My Brother Covers the Plastic Ono Band



I must have been totally out of it when my brother Bill first told me about his participation in Candice Breitz's Working Class Hero (A Portrait of John Lennon), an art installation in his adopted city of Newcastle Upon Tyne, because I honestly didn't remember any of it when he brought it up again last week.

With his permission, I'm republishing what he wrote to me about it.

"Twenty John Lennon fans filmed singing along with POB. The music played in our earphones, so that when you saw the videos, you only saw our talking heads and heard our voices singing the songs in unison.

"Usually displayed on twenty screens (4x5), but shown at the Baltic in Gateshead winding up the stairwell.I did it all in one take, start to finish (and was the only one who didn't use the sole cheat sheet, a listing of all the 'God' items he didn't believe in."


(When I asked him if he was on the monitor on the right hand side of the photograph in the linked article:)

"That was me! I was one of the bookends!

"I wore a Boston Red Sox t-shirt to show that I was an American fan. Turned out that you never saw the logo!

"She did a similar work with 'Madonna: the Immaculate Collection' with an entirely different sort of fan base. They were shown from the waist up, due to the danceable nature of Madonna. Her other pieces have been Bob Marley's Legend and Thriller. The Plastic Ono Band is actually the most marginal album she's used (most people would have gone with 'Imagine' or maybe 'Shaved Fish'). Candice listened to the album from her parent's collection when she was young and fell in love with the album.

"They wanted a wide demographic for the piece. One fan flew from Japan to do it (I never asked who payed for the flight). I happened to notice a small advert for it one day, and contacted them technically after the cutoff period. But they were pleased to have an American, especially one who lived closer to the project than any of the Brits! There were a few females, and some young folk too, but most of us were 40 to 50 year old white males.

"It's eerie when you hear all the combined voices singing the songs in unison. The only downside was that no one made any sounds during the guitar solo's, meaning that the whole thing fell silent. Luckily, POB has few instrumental breaks!

(After I remarked that he looked a bit intense on the screen:)

"And yes, I looked big scary and insane; although Candice found my rendition of 'Love' very touching. She hugged me after the performance was done, right before she told me I had to do 'Mother' again! I still regret not screaming during the sound test!

"The Japanese was actually one of the few women, and a young person as well. They offered to pay my Metro fare: I declined. That's what made me wonder whose traveling was paid for.

"And frankly, Isolation was my favorite tune to sing. It's very slow, then kicks into high gear with "I don't expect you to understand..." I just loved the contrast."


I sure hope I get to see this someday.