Subtitled The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, James Taylor, CSNY and the Lost Story of 1970 this book has a title that is a mouthful.
Browne traces us through some of the history of 1970 but mostly focuses on this as being a pivotal year in popular music. The breakup of the Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel disintegration and the rocket that was CSNY and then the flame out just as quick. James Taylor's second album Sweet Baby James owned the charts.
This book does not divulge much new information to any who have read any materials on this time before. We do learn how Rita Coolidge had relationships with multiple members of CNSY and how Joni Mitchell broke Graham Nash's heart only to move onto the drug addled James Taylor. We learn more about Taylor's history of mental problems and more than we would like to know about his drug issues that almost destroyed him.
Stephen Stills comes across as an abrasive personality and we see the final breakup of the Beatles which rightly or wrongly is again portrayed as Paul against the rest.
This book is not a revalation but it is a nice little timepiece for the year. Surprisingly so we learn how much Charlie Daniels was a part of the Rock and Roll Scene in that time frame. As a popular session musician he played for Bob Dylan, George Harrison and others. In fact he was even asked, assumingly jokingly by Harrison to join the band as they were down a bass player.
An enjoyable read but you will not leave it thinking better of any of these flawed people who happened to have immense talent musically.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Friends With Benefits
Every once in awhile you see a movie thatmis just......Awful. This would be one of those movies is it painful because there is too much sex and nudity.For the first time in my life i would sa yes. It was not erotic or sensual it was just squirmy. Justin Timberlake is lkable.He always is. Mila Kunis is attractive in her exotic way..
The movie is predictable in the exteeme, not that most moview are not but this one is painfully so. The only scene in the movie that had value is when Timberlake's character joins his alzheimers riddled father in removing his pants in a resteraunt. Even that scene you see coming.
Awful implies purposfully bas. But this is a bad movie, a very bad movie.
The movie is predictable in the exteeme, not that most moview are not but this one is painfully so. The only scene in the movie that had value is when Timberlake's character joins his alzheimers riddled father in removing his pants in a resteraunt. Even that scene you see coming.
Awful implies purposfully bas. But this is a bad movie, a very bad movie.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Elmer Gantry
This movie won Besp Picture in 1960. Adapted form the Sinclair Lewis novel of the same name it tells of a small revival troup making its way across the rural Midwest.
Burt Lancaster, Oscar winner for Best Actor plays Elmer Gantry a traveling salesman who does all the things a traveling salesman of the nineteen twenties normally did. He appears at the Revival of Sister Sharon Falconer and ingratiates himself with her and soon uses his sales skills to become part of the act.
Act is a troubling word however as he is, or tells himself he is , a believer and feels the glitz and show of the revival helps to bring people to God. For Sister Sharon there is no doubt of Gods word. Soon she fi ds herself attracted to Gantry and he of course loves her, or hismperception of her as all that is good.
Reporter Jm Lefforts played by Arthur Kennedy is another conflicted character. He would love to believe in God, is put off by the revivalist hucksterism, but still admires something he can not name in Gantry.
Buoyed by their success the revival comes to Zenith, a big city away from the rural roots of revivalism. The show is controversial and the city is split when Gantry leads followers to a brothel. Little does he know that one of the girls working their is Lulu, a woman who years earlier he had seduced leading to his dismissal from a seminary school and Lulu from the good graces of her Father, the Dean of the school.
Played by Shirley Jones lomg before she was Mrs. Partridge the very beautiful actress was striking in her role and also wn an Oscar for Best Supportng Actress. also in the movie was Jean Simmons as Sister Falconer. A good movie with a great cast.
Burt Lancaster was a great actor, a physically imposing man, who just filled the screen. Even singing on the soundtrack he captivatea. The movie was good but Lancaster was amazing.
Burt Lancaster, Oscar winner for Best Actor plays Elmer Gantry a traveling salesman who does all the things a traveling salesman of the nineteen twenties normally did. He appears at the Revival of Sister Sharon Falconer and ingratiates himself with her and soon uses his sales skills to become part of the act.
Act is a troubling word however as he is, or tells himself he is , a believer and feels the glitz and show of the revival helps to bring people to God. For Sister Sharon there is no doubt of Gods word. Soon she fi ds herself attracted to Gantry and he of course loves her, or hismperception of her as all that is good.
Reporter Jm Lefforts played by Arthur Kennedy is another conflicted character. He would love to believe in God, is put off by the revivalist hucksterism, but still admires something he can not name in Gantry.
Buoyed by their success the revival comes to Zenith, a big city away from the rural roots of revivalism. The show is controversial and the city is split when Gantry leads followers to a brothel. Little does he know that one of the girls working their is Lulu, a woman who years earlier he had seduced leading to his dismissal from a seminary school and Lulu from the good graces of her Father, the Dean of the school.
Played by Shirley Jones lomg before she was Mrs. Partridge the very beautiful actress was striking in her role and also wn an Oscar for Best Supportng Actress. also in the movie was Jean Simmons as Sister Falconer. A good movie with a great cast.
Burt Lancaster was a great actor, a physically imposing man, who just filled the screen. Even singing on the soundtrack he captivatea. The movie was good but Lancaster was amazing.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Washington by Ron Chernow
This one took awhile to read. As I read several books at once and this book approached seventy chapters at a chapter a night it was a challenge. Factor in a few too many nights of finishing other books and George Washington has been my companion since winter.
Countless biographies have been and will continue to be written about Washington but what comes out in this Chernow book is his essential honor. Of course he was of a different time. His whoe life is examined in detail.
A few items of note. Washington's mother was a brittle,nagging woman who was more concerned with what she could do for her,than what he did do for his country. It could.be argued that he was not a great general, perhaps not even a good one. His experience in the French and Indian war open to interpretation although he received good publicity. His best success in the Revolution was his calculated retreat out of New York as the British closed in.
That said despite the questions about his military prowess as a leader he was ethical and beyond reproach. As President he had perhaps the most talented cabinet ever and managed their personalities.very well. King George said that when he gave up his leadership of the Army and then gave up the Presidency that he was the greatest man of the age.
I could write a longer review. Chernow who also wrote Hamilton is clearly a expert on figures of this age. Not an easy read, not one to start lightly. But Washington the man is measured welll in this book, not as a saint, as he was not one. His continual evolution of his views on slavery was nuanced but still ahead of his contemporaries.
Seventy chapters of Washington is an investment but one worth making
Countless biographies have been and will continue to be written about Washington but what comes out in this Chernow book is his essential honor. Of course he was of a different time. His whoe life is examined in detail.
A few items of note. Washington's mother was a brittle,nagging woman who was more concerned with what she could do for her,than what he did do for his country. It could.be argued that he was not a great general, perhaps not even a good one. His experience in the French and Indian war open to interpretation although he received good publicity. His best success in the Revolution was his calculated retreat out of New York as the British closed in.
That said despite the questions about his military prowess as a leader he was ethical and beyond reproach. As President he had perhaps the most talented cabinet ever and managed their personalities.very well. King George said that when he gave up his leadership of the Army and then gave up the Presidency that he was the greatest man of the age.
I could write a longer review. Chernow who also wrote Hamilton is clearly a expert on figures of this age. Not an easy read, not one to start lightly. But Washington the man is measured welll in this book, not as a saint, as he was not one. His continual evolution of his views on slavery was nuanced but still ahead of his contemporaries.
Seventy chapters of Washington is an investment but one worth making
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Larry Crowne
First off I should state that I love Tom Hanks. From Forest Gump to his many movies, his involvement in numerous HBO shows that were wonderful to his always stellar turns as a guest on Letterman to Saturday Night Live ( I always chuckle at the thought of Mr. Short Term Memory) Hanks is one of my favorite people.
So it was not a hard decision to take the wife to see his new movie. Co starring Julia Roberts leading an extremely likable cast it seemed like a sure bet.
The verdict: Good not great. Certainly with a few chuckles, and for me a few laugh out louds. The scene of his firing or downsizing from U Mart and the feelings felt after are certainly ones I and too many middle aged American men can relate with. I have heard critics complaining that his feelings and angst were not mined enough but I think it is aafe to say the movie was more concerned with the recovery than the depths.
Prodded to return to college by his game show winning, eternal yard sale proprietor Lamar ( Cedric the Entertainer) Crowne's likable every man soon wins over the most cynical of people including his professor Mercy Tainot. ( Roberts)
Mercy has her own problems including a porn obsessed husband who as they break up remarks how much he likes big knockers and calls her a washboard. Not much for your self esteem in those comments.
This cast in very likable. Gugu Mbatha- Raw as Talia the queen of a group of scooter riding students who befriends Larry and assists him out of his post divorce funk. George Takei as an economics professor who admires everything about Crowne except his penchant for cell phone use in class, Willmer Valderamma as Talia's boyfriend, and for me the most winning turn as Steve Dibiasi by Rami Malek. Dibiase a seeming moron who ends up in the same speech class actually learns soemthing along the way. Watching the movie I tried to place where I had seen him before and once home googled and came up with him being Snafu in The Pacific, another Hanks effort. Clearly Tom takes care of his friends.
The movie is much better than some critics will tell you, not all movies have to say a great deal. Some movies just have to be likable and make you smile. This movie is full of likable people doing likable things. I think we could use a few more of those.
So it was not a hard decision to take the wife to see his new movie. Co starring Julia Roberts leading an extremely likable cast it seemed like a sure bet.
The verdict: Good not great. Certainly with a few chuckles, and for me a few laugh out louds. The scene of his firing or downsizing from U Mart and the feelings felt after are certainly ones I and too many middle aged American men can relate with. I have heard critics complaining that his feelings and angst were not mined enough but I think it is aafe to say the movie was more concerned with the recovery than the depths.
Prodded to return to college by his game show winning, eternal yard sale proprietor Lamar ( Cedric the Entertainer) Crowne's likable every man soon wins over the most cynical of people including his professor Mercy Tainot. ( Roberts)
Mercy has her own problems including a porn obsessed husband who as they break up remarks how much he likes big knockers and calls her a washboard. Not much for your self esteem in those comments.
This cast in very likable. Gugu Mbatha- Raw as Talia the queen of a group of scooter riding students who befriends Larry and assists him out of his post divorce funk. George Takei as an economics professor who admires everything about Crowne except his penchant for cell phone use in class, Willmer Valderamma as Talia's boyfriend, and for me the most winning turn as Steve Dibiasi by Rami Malek. Dibiase a seeming moron who ends up in the same speech class actually learns soemthing along the way. Watching the movie I tried to place where I had seen him before and once home googled and came up with him being Snafu in The Pacific, another Hanks effort. Clearly Tom takes care of his friends.
The movie is much better than some critics will tell you, not all movies have to say a great deal. Some movies just have to be likable and make you smile. This movie is full of likable people doing likable things. I think we could use a few more of those.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Wilfred
This show debuted on FX a couple of weeks ago. My son and I watched the first episode last night after my wife went to bed and we will watch the second one which we have on the Tivo soon.
Starring Elijah Wood as a depressed young man named Ryan and Jason Gann ( who is also a co creator of the show ) as Wilfred. Ryan sees his attractive neighbors dog Wilfred as an Australian man in a dog suit. However everyone else sees Wilfred as a dog. We in watching the show also see him as a man in a dog suit.
This sounds like a loopy premise for a show and it surely is. Wilfred drinks, smokes dope, curses and loves to get close to human women. When we see the man in the dog suit putting his face in the chest of a woman who stops to pat him the waitress only sees a cute dog. The jokes become obvious and juvenile and yet in a television world where most everything is the same there is something at least interesting about this show.
I do not know where it will go, I do not know if it really can go anywhere worth following but I am willing to watch a few more episodes to see.
Elijah Wood is good in his role though all he really does is play straight man to Gann as Wilfred.
If you want to see something different, expirimental and apparently wildly popular in Australia give this show a try. We should at least give something different a look unless we want to continue to see show after show like it's predecessor.
Starring Elijah Wood as a depressed young man named Ryan and Jason Gann ( who is also a co creator of the show ) as Wilfred. Ryan sees his attractive neighbors dog Wilfred as an Australian man in a dog suit. However everyone else sees Wilfred as a dog. We in watching the show also see him as a man in a dog suit.
This sounds like a loopy premise for a show and it surely is. Wilfred drinks, smokes dope, curses and loves to get close to human women. When we see the man in the dog suit putting his face in the chest of a woman who stops to pat him the waitress only sees a cute dog. The jokes become obvious and juvenile and yet in a television world where most everything is the same there is something at least interesting about this show.
I do not know where it will go, I do not know if it really can go anywhere worth following but I am willing to watch a few more episodes to see.
Elijah Wood is good in his role though all he really does is play straight man to Gann as Wilfred.
If you want to see something different, expirimental and apparently wildly popular in Australia give this show a try. We should at least give something different a look unless we want to continue to see show after show like it's predecessor.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Revolutionary Road
We watched this movie a week ago. Starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio, in their first pairing since Titanic , as Frank and April Wheeler a young suburban couple in nineteen fifties suburban Connecticut.
However not all is as tranquil as it seems. April dreamed and still dreams of being an actress but sees that dream ending. Frank works as a salesman in the same office machine company his father does but feels bored, nameless and beaten down.
The Wheelers are good friends with their real estate agent played by Kathy Bates. They encourage her to visit along with her troubled son, who had recently been in a mental hospital for his " nervous condition." However her son John is verbally combative and with no social skills makes very confrontational statements. This unsettles many.
As we watched the movie well in we still did not know where it was going. The movie was not great. The characters are self absorbed but not unlike many people both then and now living the normal life, achieving much of the suburban dream but find themselves unfulfilled. The lengths that they think of going to to bypass it seem extreme but perhaps that is society;s way to prevent chaos. I admit I have thought how nice it would be to live in Europe, I suspect if all who thought of it did so the world would be a much less staid place. Society despite what it purports to admire is an influence on staid and boring lives.
Kate Winslet is that rare actress who can look awful and then incredibly beatiful and sensual in different scenes. Her face is a canvas for any emotion. DiCaprio still looks like he could be bagging groceries but he is an accomplished actor and he does well in this role. This movie succeeds at it's goals. If one is inclined to think then this movie will make one do so. The question is how many people want to go to a movie to contemplate the death of the soul to the conformity of the American Dream.
An interesting movie. Not a great one however.
However not all is as tranquil as it seems. April dreamed and still dreams of being an actress but sees that dream ending. Frank works as a salesman in the same office machine company his father does but feels bored, nameless and beaten down.
The Wheelers are good friends with their real estate agent played by Kathy Bates. They encourage her to visit along with her troubled son, who had recently been in a mental hospital for his " nervous condition." However her son John is verbally combative and with no social skills makes very confrontational statements. This unsettles many.
As we watched the movie well in we still did not know where it was going. The movie was not great. The characters are self absorbed but not unlike many people both then and now living the normal life, achieving much of the suburban dream but find themselves unfulfilled. The lengths that they think of going to to bypass it seem extreme but perhaps that is society;s way to prevent chaos. I admit I have thought how nice it would be to live in Europe, I suspect if all who thought of it did so the world would be a much less staid place. Society despite what it purports to admire is an influence on staid and boring lives.
Kate Winslet is that rare actress who can look awful and then incredibly beatiful and sensual in different scenes. Her face is a canvas for any emotion. DiCaprio still looks like he could be bagging groceries but he is an accomplished actor and he does well in this role. This movie succeeds at it's goals. If one is inclined to think then this movie will make one do so. The question is how many people want to go to a movie to contemplate the death of the soul to the conformity of the American Dream.
An interesting movie. Not a great one however.
Slaid Cleaves in Ellsworth Maine
Slaid Cleaves is a singer songwriter raised in Berwick, Maine who has lived in the Austin, Texas area the last twenty years. Having recorded albums such as Broke Down, Wishbones, and Everything You Love Will Be Taken Away Cleaves has not had the " big break" but he has had a measure of success and gained some very good reviews.
Cleaves has been featured on Stephen King's WKIT in Bangor, Maine, in fact King wrote liner notes for Cleaves last album. So it was not a surprise to see Cleaves playing a benefit concert in Ellsworth.
The concert featured many songs that Cleaves fans would be familiar with such as Cry, Broke Down, Breakfast in Hell and Black T Shirt. Cleaves is very engaging, telling stories with the crowd freely and easily. Cleaves even has a yodeling portion of the show telling of the mentoring relationship with an Austin singer who has since passed who he always tries to feature a song for in his shows to keep his music alive. Yodeling may or may not be for you but it is quite an exclusive talent.
Cleaves, with the exception of the yodeling does nothing many others do not also do but he does do it well. A singer, songwriter, storyteller he might be closer to Todd Snider than Bob Dylan but for me his spoken voice is close to Arlo Guthrie. In all three cases these are not comparisons he would shy from I am sure.
Intelligent. Funny. Witty. Talented. A good songwriter. Listen to Green Mountains and Me to convince yourself of that fact. A night with Slaid Cleaves should be something you enjoy. When he comes to your town you should go. Buy the records. Artists like Slaid Cleaves need to be supported.
Cleaves has been featured on Stephen King's WKIT in Bangor, Maine, in fact King wrote liner notes for Cleaves last album. So it was not a surprise to see Cleaves playing a benefit concert in Ellsworth.
The concert featured many songs that Cleaves fans would be familiar with such as Cry, Broke Down, Breakfast in Hell and Black T Shirt. Cleaves is very engaging, telling stories with the crowd freely and easily. Cleaves even has a yodeling portion of the show telling of the mentoring relationship with an Austin singer who has since passed who he always tries to feature a song for in his shows to keep his music alive. Yodeling may or may not be for you but it is quite an exclusive talent.
Cleaves, with the exception of the yodeling does nothing many others do not also do but he does do it well. A singer, songwriter, storyteller he might be closer to Todd Snider than Bob Dylan but for me his spoken voice is close to Arlo Guthrie. In all three cases these are not comparisons he would shy from I am sure.
Intelligent. Funny. Witty. Talented. A good songwriter. Listen to Green Mountains and Me to convince yourself of that fact. A night with Slaid Cleaves should be something you enjoy. When he comes to your town you should go. Buy the records. Artists like Slaid Cleaves need to be supported.
Sergeant York
Years ago I had a friend who was a minister of a small local church. He told me that this was his favorite movie. After taping this on TCM I have watched the movie in starts and stops over the last few days and have to say that it is a fine movie.
The movie tells the story of Alvin York a man from the backwoods of Tennessee who became one of the most decorated soldiers of World War I. The movie gives plenty of time to the characters experiences before the war, in fact the better part of the movie. The conversion experience shown in the film is one of the best found God movies you will ever see in a movie. I suspect this was why my friend enjoyed the movie.
Gary Cooper won the Best Actor Oscar in his role as York and played him as the aw shucks persona that was according to the record York's true personality. Walter Brennan plays the Minister and local trading post proprietor who serves as York's counsel as his own father died when he was eleven. Brennan in playing many of the same types of characters is underrated in his talent. One might question where those eyebrows of a different color came from in the movie and to what purpose.
York's military experiences and relationships with his peers are well documented and given especially sensitive treatment is York's concern to stay true to his religeous beliefs with his mission in war. Find a way he did as York took out a whole machine gun battery and captured a group of men many more in number than his group.
Black and white from 1941 and certainly nothing like what is filmed today in terms of cinematography. Still the story is the story and this is a good story. A very good movie. Now if I was to see my friend Ron from years ago I could tell him I knew what he meant.
The movie tells the story of Alvin York a man from the backwoods of Tennessee who became one of the most decorated soldiers of World War I. The movie gives plenty of time to the characters experiences before the war, in fact the better part of the movie. The conversion experience shown in the film is one of the best found God movies you will ever see in a movie. I suspect this was why my friend enjoyed the movie.
Gary Cooper won the Best Actor Oscar in his role as York and played him as the aw shucks persona that was according to the record York's true personality. Walter Brennan plays the Minister and local trading post proprietor who serves as York's counsel as his own father died when he was eleven. Brennan in playing many of the same types of characters is underrated in his talent. One might question where those eyebrows of a different color came from in the movie and to what purpose.
York's military experiences and relationships with his peers are well documented and given especially sensitive treatment is York's concern to stay true to his religeous beliefs with his mission in war. Find a way he did as York took out a whole machine gun battery and captured a group of men many more in number than his group.
Black and white from 1941 and certainly nothing like what is filmed today in terms of cinematography. Still the story is the story and this is a good story. A very good movie. Now if I was to see my friend Ron from years ago I could tell him I knew what he meant.
Men of a Certain Age
In our quest to find interesting things to watch on that rare occasion where we get to sit down at the same time..usually around 10:30 at night my wife picked up the first disc in this series on Netflix. It was one of those shows we had always intended to watch but the truth is that more and more the idea of watching a show when it is originally on is completely foreign.
Today with the advent of DVD if you miss a couple episodes at the beginning of a show you can just wait for the DVD release. For us this year we did not hook up HBO for the last season of Big Love nor for Boardwalk Empire. In both cases we made this choice so that we could watch the show later on DVD. The fact is watching TV shows in four episode spurts is more convenient that waiting for a episode each week.
So that is my dissertation of the changing nature of watching television. On this show, Men of a Certain Age, Ray Romano, Scott Bakula and Andre Braugher play three longtime friends meeting the quandaries of middle age.
I have earlier discussed my affection for Ray Romano. This show does not dissipate that like in anyway. Bakula is likable and Braugher is well known as a stellar actor from his days on Homicide.
One episode into the show I care about the characters. I want to know what happens. I want to know if Joe ( Ray Romano) ever meets the fantasy woman. And yes for those that have seen the show I do want to know if "they" are real. My guess is no.
This is a very good show.
Today with the advent of DVD if you miss a couple episodes at the beginning of a show you can just wait for the DVD release. For us this year we did not hook up HBO for the last season of Big Love nor for Boardwalk Empire. In both cases we made this choice so that we could watch the show later on DVD. The fact is watching TV shows in four episode spurts is more convenient that waiting for a episode each week.
So that is my dissertation of the changing nature of watching television. On this show, Men of a Certain Age, Ray Romano, Scott Bakula and Andre Braugher play three longtime friends meeting the quandaries of middle age.
I have earlier discussed my affection for Ray Romano. This show does not dissipate that like in anyway. Bakula is likable and Braugher is well known as a stellar actor from his days on Homicide.
One episode into the show I care about the characters. I want to know what happens. I want to know if Joe ( Ray Romano) ever meets the fantasy woman. And yes for those that have seen the show I do want to know if "they" are real. My guess is no.
This is a very good show.
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