Bob Dylan wore glasses. He needed glasses but rarely wore them.
He wore prescription sunglasses. These are the same as mine.
He always had headaches.
James Dean wore glasses.
Only took them off for photo shoots and for all three movies. Actually, in Rebel, they shot a few days of him with glasses. Then they went back and re-shot everything in color and had him take off the glasses.
Off set, he'd always have them on. This is him and Elisabeth Taylor. I like to think of them having a neat relationship.
I think he looks good in glasses.
Not being able to see, gives him that look though... of gazing into nothing...
I was watching the history channel by chance when I was about 17, and Curtis Clark's documentary "Blue Suede Shoes" (1980) was on. I saw cool Rockabilly Teddy Boys everywhere and they were insanely excited.
I remember the documentary being about a reunion or a festival of some sort in the early 80... sort of showing the Rockabilly revival that went on in the late 70s. The whole night was leading up to this concert by "the father of Rock and Roll" Bill Haley.
I only got to see maybe 10 minutes before my sister came into the room and demanded that she'd get to see her show that was about to be on. I pleaded with her that I was currently watching something that would change things for ever for me. I was moved by what my eyes were seeing! Nope... the channel was changed.
Ever since then, I've been looking for it. I know in the last 5 years, it seems like everything from the past is coming out on DVD so I kept trying. I didn't know what it was called, today I remembered Bill Haley was the headliner so I just looked for youtubes of him playing live in the 80s. He didn't live long after. Sure enough, I found the concert.
The rest of the documentary is still missing and is not available anywhere, but I know what it's called now. So... here... watch this...
I love early 80s punk rock films. Here are 6 of the best.
Ladies and Gentlemen the Fabulous Stains (81)
My favorite early 80s punk rock movie. It was actually filmed in 79 and was delayed for 2 years. Then was shelved after 1 week in 2 theaters. It disappeared for 2 decades and then found it's way into late night cable TV, where it found a cult following. It was released on DVD a few years ago and now the world has realized what an amazing film this is. A time capsule documenting the death of punk.
Diane Lane (15) and Laura Dern (13) are the in an all girl punk band. They go on tour with a British punk band, made up of Paul Simonon from the Clash and the drummer and guitar player of the Sex Pistols (6 months after Sid died). It's about the commercialism of a punk rock attitude.
Rude Boy (80)
It's a film but feels like a documentary about the Clash. The Clash are on an actual tour and is being taped playing shows, but then throughout the day, they act out unscripted scenes. The plot revolves around the roadie who continues to be a problem for everyone. The film interjects current political events and tries to relate it to the Clash in some way (unsuccessfully). It's a great watch if you love the clash and love raw city cinema of the early 80s.
Rock and Roll High School (79)
This is a great comedy that everyone should see. A girl loves the Ramones and tries to get them to play at her high school. We need to have a party and watch this... I was probably 19 the last time I saw it, sadly.
Suburbia (84)
"You gonna get a burn?" "Sure." "I never thought twice about getting mine." "Oh yeah? Why's that?" "Because I have so many scars already."
I was in high school when I saw this at a friends house. He had dedicated his life to this movie. It's about a group of squatters, living in abandoned suburban houses. Features Flea from Red Hot Chilli Peppers as "Rat".
The Smithereens (82)
This is a raw New York, on the streets, film. It's about a girl who's barely scraping by. I saw it a few years ago when I was hardcore into raw city cinema from the early 80s. Richard Hell, the lead singer of The Television, is surprisingly amazing.
Radio On (79)
Named after my all-time favorite song "Roadrunner" by The Modern Lovers. It features a killer soundtrack throughout the film. It's basically a quiet road movie set to constant badass punk rock. Very French New Wave. Features a great cameo by Sting (the lonely gas attendant).
My favorite Bob Dylan moment was the Nashville Skyline sessions with Johnny Cash. It was recorded in 1969 (post motorcycle accident) and was Dylan's 9th album.
There was a camera in the studio. I believe the camera was following Cash... it's in has man in black documentary. Cash and Dylan at this point were old friends dating back to the early 60s
Cash makes Dylan break by saying "Bob" in a line. Dylan responds but can't keep his cool. Cash is just having a good time, where as Dylan wants to keep the Dylan image in front of the camera. The ultimate moment though is when they listen to the playback. They destroyed the ending and Dylan is cracking up and is embarrassed, Cash is loving it!
Please note that Dylan is chewing freaking bubble gum while singing this song. This is the take that is on the album.
The thing I like about Quentin Tarantino and the thing I hate about Quentin Tarantino is that he drowns his movies with the sounds and images that he wants to see. It's what I would do, given the chance to make movies. However, I feel like he does it in a tasteless, obnoxious way. He has great influences and they are all plain to see in his films. Today we're going to be talking about TRUE ROMANCE. Written by Tarantino and directed by Tony Scott (Top Gun, Days of Thunder, the Last Boyscout).
The movie is a tribute to Terrence Malick's 1973 film, Badlands. Homaging some of the same shots, motifs, dialogue, and score, as well as the general "on the run" plot. The characters are virtually the same, the scores theme and instrumentation is exactly the same, and the voice-over narration by Arquettes character Alabama is spot on the same unreliable, uninformed, narration as Sissy Spacek's.
Terrence Malick's Badlands (in my top 5 favorite films) is loosely based on a true story that happened in 1958 (when the movie takes place roughly). The film embraces the late 50s in such a way that you forget it was made in the 70s.
There is a motif that continues through the film about James Dean. Sheen looks like him and acts like him (and makes efforts to do so). Holly thinks he looks like him and reads magazines with Dean on the cover. There are 3 shots that homage the 3 Dean films. Sheen squats like Dean in East of Eden, he flicks his cigarette out the door when he gets chased by the cops like in Rebel Without a Cause, and he holds a shotgun on his shoulders like Dean in Giant.
Bruce Springsteen wrote a song about Badlands.
The song Nebraska is probably about the movie, more than another event. The song Badlands really isn't about the movie mostly.
Badlands is very similar to the film Arthur Penn's 1967 Bonnie & Clyde.
Their strange relationship. Bonnie thinks Clyde is so cool, and Clyde only wants to remain cool in her eyes. He took her away from her boring life and introduced her to his exciting life and then he has to find a way to keep it exciting.
Jean-Luc Godard made a Bonnie & Clyde of his own in 1967 called Pierrot Le Fou...
...However he had made 2 films before that which were also "on the run love stories". Breathless and Band of Outsiders. All 3 have a similar plot of a guy breaking the law and a girl he tries to get to follow him.
In conclusion... what I believe to be Tarentino's greatest achievement is to some up 50 years of "on the run love stories" in one line... "You're so cool." It captures the essence of every Rock'n'Roll relationship (doomed love). You're so cool.
James Dean took East of Eden to a strange place. While watching it, you feel like all the other professional actors in the movie are completely out of their element while acting with him. They try to do their best to keep up. In my opinion, no character had gone that deep before. He was dark, hurt, and absolutely adorable.
I was on the quest for a good fountain square coffee shop. Still haven't found one. But what I did find was far greater.
You know in movies when someone walks into a place that they don't belong, and everyone in that place stops what they're doing and looks.
http://www.arsenalgameroom.com
I walked into a game room. Didn't know what that meant. I saw the word cafe so I walked in. What I found was a lot of weird dudes playing fantasy games. I walked through and ordered a coffee anyway. The owner gave me a tour of the place.
We first walked down to the "dungeon". On the way down the stairs I heard a guy reading from a book or something. He was speaking in a scary voice and going with it 100%. They were playing a game called "Vampires". When I got down there, he started talking in a slightly more normal voice.
We then walked through "the War Room" where there was some serious battles going on, then back upstairs. He told me about all the special events coming up like Dungeons and Dragons night and other games I've never heard of.
This underworld of gamers can easily be laughed at by all other non-gamers... but dude, they look like they are seriously having a good time. The arsenal is open from 12 to 12 on Saturday, and I bet most of those guys were gonna be there all day, havin' the time of their life. It's no different then jocks going to a gym, or music lovers going to a show. They tap into that childlike feeling of just having a good time... escaping your world.
One thought I could not escape while sitting near nerds playing a role playing game is this one time that I described myself to a girl on the internet about 6 years ago. I said, "I'd like to consider myself like what Daniel Desario would have turned out to be after hanging out with the geeks for a while, but really I'm probably more like the geeks after hanging out with Daniel Desario."
My mom and I love to go antique shopping. I love that feeling of having something you're looking for... scanning each section for that one thing. Last time we went to the Grayson Flea Market, I was looking to sell my VHS collection to a poor sucker, and my mom was looking for an old wooden high-chair for Gabe, my cousin's baby. We were both unsuccessful, but we had a good time.
I .01% hate the word "OLD". I 99% hate the word "RETRO". I 33% hate the word "ANTIQUE". I 5 % hate the word "VINTAGE". I 20% hate the word "TREASURE". I 10% hate the word "USED".
Antique shops like Indianapolis' own Midland Antique Mall is geared towards girls more than boys. It's not a guys place. (However, they did have a sweet black leather biker jacket that fit me perfectly the first time I went but didn't have the money and then went yesterday and it was gone and now I'm really sad about it because I don't think I'll ever find one that cool, but it's probably for the best because I don't think I'm cool enough to wear a coat like that anyway.) For instance, my 3 best finds...
A cool cabinet with stars all over it. If I was a girl I could buy this and put beauty products in it.
80's Snoopy bag! So COOL. Guys can't carry around tiny hand bags. We just can't.
A vintage case (love boxes and cases) specifically for roller skates.
I didn't buy anything, which is a good thing. I don't need more stuff. There were SO MANY SMALL SUITCASES I WANTED TO BUY!
I finally found the Yats on Mass Ave.
As I sat and ate this amazing plate of slop, a Jimi Hendrix song came on. It sounded like a studio blues jam (another word I hate) session with his 3 piece band. It was the most impressive guitar playing I've ever heard. It was like I discovered Hendrix all over for the first time. I was so moved, I was ready to stand up and start dancing with the girl eating next to me... They would turn it up real loud... then maybe the cooks would come out and start dancing with us... and everybody else in the place would dance... then the people would be comin' in off the streets!!! We'd all be dancin' the blues!!!!
The Undertones. Derry's finest, from Derry Ireland.
I was trapped in a 4 hour layover with 13 pounds in my pocket. I went to a CD store there in the duty free airport shopping center at either Heathrow or Gatwick in London. More than half of the store was tiny mini discs (something that apparently never made it to the states). I wasn't really looking for anything in particular. I did have a little obsession with box sets however and discovered a cheap one on the shelf of the tiny store.
It was a black box that said "THE UNDERTONES THE SINGLES BOX SET. There was a sticker that read, "Derry's finest". I thought, well if they are a city's finest, then they must be decent. I wasn't going to have any use for "pounds" in the states so I figured I'd go for it. It was only 9!
After I bought it I went and sat down to listen to it on my discman. It had 6 singles sleeves in the box. It was the coolest thing I had ever seen. I put in the first "Teenage Kicks". It blew me away. I had nothing to compare it to. I wasn't all that familiar with late 70's early 80's punk. But I loved what I heard.
Music is always best when you were the one to discover the band... as opposed to a friend introducing it to you. You feel like it's yours. The Undertones are mine. I've never met anyone who owns an undertone album. I own almost all of them.
It's all great music. The earlier the better, but it's all good. I especially like that they progressed and really experimented with their music in the later 80s.
Most of their great songs all came from their debut album "The Undertones" in 1979.
With their first single "Teenage Kicks".
The coolest cover ever. Consider it ripped off.
I describe them as a pop band from the gutters of Ireland. It's so gritty and so full of aggression and energy that they cross the line into a punk band. Like this song "It's Gonna Happen" sounds like a happy pop song but it's about the hunger strikes in the prisons of Northern Ireland around that time. The IRA were wrongly held by England in many cases and the Hunger strikes were to better the living conditions within the prisons. The first hunger strike lasted 62 days before he died. Watch the movie "HUNGER" if you really wanna be grossed out. "It's gonna happen until you change your mind".
The sound is exactly what I aspire for with my new band. Pop music with a nashing grit. I've wanted to start a band like the Undertones since I was 19 years old. It has officially happened.
There's only one singles boxset online for sale right now and it's at 125 dollars.
Me - Mom! Please Please PLEASE make me a stripy t-shirt!
Big thick stripes! Baby blue and white, or red and white...
...anything and white! The sleeves need to be 3 quarters long, and the neck has to be boat shaped... you know like in the shape of a boat. Will you do it?
My birthday is coming up!
Mom - Boys don't wear those kinds of shirts... girls do.
