The Wrestler
Over the years, the Boss has been very selective about his contributions to motion picture soundtracks. I can only count three off the top of my head: “Streets of Philadelphia” (from the Philadelphia soundtrack), “Dead Man Walking” (from the Dead Man Walking soundtrack), and “Secret Garden” (from the Jerry Maguire soundtrack). Film director Jonathan Demme asked Bruce for “Philadelphia”. I’m assuming Tim Robbins or Sean Penn asked for a contribution to Dead Man Walking; and I’m not sure about Jerry Maguire, but director Cameron Crowe has a way of compiling some outstanding soundtracks. I’m sure he heard “Secret Garden” on Bruce’s Greatest Hits compilation and asked for it to be used in the film.
Darren Aronofsky’s new film, The Wrestler, starring Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei, features a new contribution from the Boss: “The Wrestler”. It’s a slow acoustic tune that reminds me of “The Ghost of Tom Joad” with some of its lyrics.
Have you ever seen a scarecrow filled with nothing but dust and wheat?
If you’ve ever seen that scarecrow then you’ve seen me
Have you ever seen a one-armed man punching at nothing but the breeze?
If you’ve ever seen a one-armed man then you’ve seen meReminds me a little of Bruce’s quote in “Tom Joad” from The Grapes of Wrath…
Now Tom said “Mom, wherever there’s a cop beatin’ a guy
Wherever a hungry newborn baby cries
Where there’s a fight ‘gainst the blood and hatred in the air
Look for me Mom I’ll be there
Wherever there’s somebody fightin’ for a place to stand
Or decent job or a helpin’ hand
Wherever somebody’s strugglin’ to be free
Look in their eyes Mom you’ll see me.”If I was in college, I’d write a paper about the contrasts and similarities between Tom Joad and The Wrestler. But suffice it to say, the character in the “The Wrestler” is a signature Boss character – a man beat down, hanging on to life by a thread, only to rise again. I’ve only listened to the song a few times, and I’ve already managed to make comparisons to other songs, but I know it will grow on me like they always do, and forge an identity of its own.
It turns out Mickey Rourke reached out to Bruce…
In an interview with Uncut, Mickey Rourke stated, “I wrote Bruce a letter, because we’ve known each other over twenty years, and he knows what I used to be, or whatever. Where I went. What I’d been reduced to. I told him how I felt lucky now and didn’t have to end up being this guy, being Randy (character from The Wrestler). A while later I got a call in the middle of the night: he said he’d written a little song, for nothing. It’s fucking beautiful, right? I was honored he took the time, because he’s a busy cat. I mean, I’m so goddam proud of this magical movie and to have Bruce’s input… ain’t nobody in Hollywood with all their millions can just ring the man and he’ll do a song, y’know?”
Spoken like only Mickey Rourke can.
I can’t remember the last adult movie I’ve gone to the theater to see, but I’m going to make some time over the holidays for this one. Here’s the whole song on YouTube…
The single is now available on iTunes. Click little Mickey down there to check it out and buy.
The song will also show up on Bruce’s new album, Working on a Dream, due January 27th.
Check out the trailer for The Wrestler here. It premieres in NYC and L.A. today (Dec. 17th), with a wider release coming soon. Find out when the movie will open near you.
Sirius Backspin Will Return, and doggone it if it ain’t raining
As a guy who came of age in the classic age of early hip-hop, aka the 80’s – I was seriously bummed when Sirius’ Backspin channel was canned after the Sirius – XM merger. Sirius and XM did a pretty good job of consolidating, and holding on to the genres, whether on the Sirius or XM side. Old School Rap, unfortunately, was a casualty with no replacement on the XM side.
Fast forward to today’s press release, that, due to subscriber complaints, Backspin will make a triumphant return on January 15th! Sweet! I can can get my fix of the greats: Kurtis Blow, Doug E. Fresh, Eric B. & Rakim, Grandmaster Flash, and all the other Old School pioneers.
1/19 Update: Backspin is indeed back. I confirmed today. It doesn’t show up in the menu yet (probably not until Sirus-XM’s next update, whenever that is). You can find it on Channel 39 on the Sirius side.
Stay tuned for an Old School mix I’m putting together, featuring a bunch of my favorites from the era.
So the question you’re asking yourself at this point is: “Why the photo of Keith Sweat in a lightning storm?” Well, Keith is most definitely old school, and something rare has come to the my hometown – Rain. I’m talking all day, steady, beautiful rain. And since the late 80’s, when Make It Last Forever was released, “In the Rain” has been one of my favorite rain songs. Okay, yes, I know Zeppelin’s “Rain Song” is legendary, and so is CCR’s “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?” and “Who’ll Stop the Rain”, and of course, Prince’s “Purple Rain”.
Buut, old Keith’s rain tune always pops into my head when the rain falls, which isn’t very often in these parts. Listen to Keith’s rain song, won’t you?
Keith Sweat – In The Rain
From the 1987 album, Make It Last Forever.
Alan Parsons in a Winter Wonderland
If I knew Photoshop / Image Ready a little better, I would’ve added some sweet wintry sparkles to this picture of Alan Parsons. But it involves things like rasters and vectors and “noise”, and I’m just not up to that level yet.
As the man behind the Alan Parsons Project, and the man who manned the controls in studio for Abbey Road and Dark Side of the Moon, Mr. Parsons is clearly not someone to be messed with. But Jason Lytle and his now defunct band Grandaddy had some fun with him in this holiday ditty.
Jason’s web site has shown promises of his first solo album sometime in 2008, but the clock is ticking, and there is no word from Mr. Lytle. So enjoy this. And if you don’t have The Sophtware Slump, go get it!
Grandaddy – Alan Parsons in a Winter Wonderland
A Truly Beautiful Mess
From the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway. This is quite possibly one of my favorite songs of 2008 let alone Jason Mraz‘s catalog. The power of the vocal performance combined with the orchestra provided for the perfect combination.
Buy We Sing, We Dance. We Steal Things Expanded Edition (2 CD/DVD): Amazon | iTunes
Links: Official Site | on Last.fm | on MySpace
New Wendy & Lisa: “White Flags of Winter Chimneys”
After several months of teasers, Wendy & Lisa this week released White Flags of Winter Chimneys, their first new album, not counting their soundtrack work, since 1998’s Girl Bros. Of course, Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman are probably best known as members of Prince’s former band, The Revolution. But the pair, good friends since childhood, have made a name for themselves as a duo since being fired from The Revolution in 1986. Though their three albums as Wendy & Lisa and one under the moniker Girl Bros. weren’t huge commercial successes (though their first album, Wendy & Lisa, did spawn a moderate hit single, “Waterfall”), they are highly respected by critics and fans alike. Their work scoring television shows, such as Heroes, Carnivale, Crossing Jordan, and films, such as Dangerous Minds and Something New, has brought them quite a bit of positive attention in recent years and fans, like me, have been eager for them to release a new album of original Wendy & Lisa songs. After several listens to this new record I have to say that they did not disappoint.
Fans got a taste of the new material over the summer when Wendy & Lisa previewed two tracks, “Balloon” and “Invisible” via their website and MySpace page. I was quite pleased with both songs when I first heard them and was really excited to get my hands on the full record. I kept checking their site to see if there was any word on when it would be released, but nothing. I was getting worried that we wouldn’t see the album until 2009, but was pleasantly surprised to come home from work Tuesday evening to find an email announcing that the album had finally been released. They have made it available in three formats: digital only, CD with digital download and a deluxe package that includes limited edition colored vinyl, CD and digital donwload. Each format contains the full album plus four bonus tracks. I went for the digital download since I’m a little strapped for cash right now, but I kind of wish I’d gone for the deluxe package instead. Oh well.
White Flags follows the same path that started with the Girl Bros. album, which was definitely more laid-back and intimate than their previous work. With an eclectic mix of acoustic ballads, like “You and I” gorgeous piano-based pieces like “Balloon” and “Sweet Suite (Beginning at the End)” and funky rockers like “Salt & Cherries (MC5),” White Flags is probably one of their best, most complete works to date. The four bonus tracks are all demos from the ’90s. One is an early demo of the track “Niagra,” which appears on White Flags. Also included are demos of the songs “Viste” and “Waiting for Coffee,” which many fans will recognize from the bootleg of the unreleasead Wendy/Lisa/Trevor Horn project known as Friendly Fire, and another unreleased track, “The Dream.” I’m happy they included these and I’d love to see them dig further into their vault and give us more demos and unreleased tracks.
White Flags of Winter Chimneys was definitely worth the 10-year wait, though I hope they don’t wait that long to release another album. I’m really holding out for a Wendy & Lisa tour, though I haven’t heard of any definite plans. Perhaps when their full site is relaunched, we’ll know more. To get your grubby little hands on this album, head on over to wendyandlisa.com.
Wendy & Lisa – Salt & Cherries (MC5) (download)
Ickmusic’s Friday Five: December 12, 2008
Welcome to week two of our “Holiday Edition” of the Friday Five!
As we wind down to the New Year the last four editions of the Friday Five will be shuffled from my vast collection of Holiday music. I encourage everyone to play along and spin up some holiday cheer. With the holiday season being short and the duress of the current economic climate being ever present we could all use a little lift in spirits.
For those who have not joined in the Five, here’s how it works: … I hit the shuffle button on my iTunes and share my five with a bit of insight for each track.
Then it’s your turn! Just share the first five random track of your shuffle in the comments and see what your fellow readers are listening to as well.
Here are this week’s tracks:
1. Paul McCartney – Wonderful Christmastime (from The Best Christmas Album in the World… Ever!)
I can’t really say why I like this tune so very much, but it is among my favorite contemporary holiday songs.
2. U2 – Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) (from A Very Special Christmas)
Does anyone else remember the video for this one?
This is a traditional Irish Christmas song? Um, last I checked Phil Spector was from the Bronx and Darlene Love from California. And seriously, could The Edge look any more annoyed? Regardless this stands as Top 5 list material… I truly love this song.
3. Bobby Helms – Jingle Bell Rock (mp3) (from Rockin’ Little Christmas)
Nothing beats the original.
4. Run-D.M.C. – Christmas in Hollis (from A Very Special Christmas)
“It’s Christmastime in Hollis Queens, Moms cooking chicken and collard greens, rice and stuffing, macaroni and cheese, and Santa puts gifts under Christmas trees…”
An ’80s classic! To this day I can rock this a cappella on demand.
5. Meco – R2-D2 We Wish You a Merry Christmas (mp3) (from Christmas in the Stars: Star Wars Christmas Album)
I’ve made no attempt to cover my geekdom here; yes this is a Star Wars Christmas record. Yes I’ve owned not one, but multiple copies of this record over the years and it is as much a part of my holiday tradition as trimming the tree. And since I’m sharing, yes I have not one, but two Millennium Falcon ornaments along with an R2-D2. And in the spirit of giving I’m sharing this holiday classic with all of you. And yes, the lead vocal is a young John Bongiovi, Jr. Enjoy!
What’s helping you count down the days until Santa pulls his sleigh?
Stand by Me (from Playing for Change)
Watch this.
You’ll feel better.
Thanks wife.From the award winning documentary, Playing for Change.
Greg Brown’s Blue Car
Everything about this song is just.. right. The cadence of Greg’s delivery. The lyrics. The electric guitar. The way the drums and the first line of the song introduce themselves together.
I think I need to buy all of Greg Brown’s albums, hop in the car, and drive around for a few weeks.
Save Three Sheets!
While this is decidedly not music related I’m a firm believer that you should support the media that entertains you most, especially in a time where networks and labels are increasingly fickle and unwilling to stand behind even a quality product. One such product is the series Three Sheets. Sure, on the surface it’s a show about a guy running around the world and drinking his arse off. And yes there is even a play at home drinking game (peep the rules) but more than that it is like spending thirty minutes with your best buddy (who’s name is Zane Lamprey, in case you are wondering) as he tells you about all the crazy shit he’s gotten up to. In short it’s a quality program.
So why do we need to ‘save’ Three Sheets?
Well, it would seem that MOJO HD, the cable company that has served the show up the last three seasons, closed it’s doors on December 1st and well, that leaves Zane (and Pleepleus) without a home. The fourth season of the show has already been filmed and all the show needs is to be picked up by another network. Long story short there are a few ways to show the networks that Three Sheets is worth saving. You can obviously write to the few stations that Three Sheets logically fits into (Spike, Comedy Central, Food Network, Travel Channel, Discovery) or you can join Zane at one of the rallies being held next week. For more information on the rallies (I’m fairly certain that the wife and I will be in attendance on the 18th) click here (Zane Lamprey’s official site).
And if you are still with me, here is one of my (many) favorite episodes:
And you can catch every other episode to date on Hulu.
Looking Back: Midnight Oil live in Calgary (1993)
Six years ago last week, Peter Garrett and his band, Midnight Oil, decided to call it quits for good. Peter had been active in Australian politics since the late 80’s, but he’d always managed to set aside time for the socially & environmentally conscious Oils. But in December 2002, Peter decided to devote all of his time to government.
These days, Peter is Australia’s Minister for the Environment, Heritage, and the Arts, appointed by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
I had a chance to see the band live at the Celebrity Theater in Phoenix the year before they disbanded. It was a treat to be able to see Peter Garrett, the performer: his commanding presence (six and a half feet tall), the passion and ferocity with which he approached his songs, the signature singing voice… the ultimate front man.
Here’s a great intimate 1993 performance from Beach Studios in Calgary – an “unplugged” show, if you will. But an unplugged show that’ll rock your socks off. Peter also throws in a little “Locomotive Breath” – the song he sang when he auditioned for Midnight Oil in 1976.
Midnight Oil
Beach Studios,
Calgary, Alberta
August 10th, 1993Feeding Frenzy
Truganini
Sell My Soul
The Dead Heart
Locomotive Breath
Earth And Sun And Moon
Beds Are Burning
One Country
Now Or Never Land
Warakurna
My CountryCheck out Midnight Oil on Amazon
