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2 episodes with Jon Landau
2 episodes with Jon Landau
2 episodes with Jon Landau
2 episodes with Jon Landau
2 episodes with Jon Landau
2 episodes with Jon Landau
2 episodes with Jon Landau
2 episodes with Jon Landau
2 episodes with Jon Landau
On this episode of Adventures In Vinyl, Adam and I discuss the 7th studio album that featured 7 singles. The artist is New Jersey's own Bruce Sprinstenn and the album is Born in The U.S.A.Song of The Week!Danger Zone - Kenny Loggins - Top Gun (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)Enough Is Enough - The HivesStump The Barron!Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me Kill Me - U2 - Batman Forever (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)Bruce Springsteen - Born in The U.S.A.Genre: RockRelease Date: June 4, 1984Studio(s): Power Station and Hit Factory (New York City)Producer(s): Bruce Springsteen, Jon Landau, Chuck Plotkin, Steven Van ZandtLabel: ColumbiaLength: 46:41Number of Tracks: 12For more information on the Bruce Springsteen his website is www.brucespringsteen.net . If you enjoyed this podcast be sure to check us out at our website at ww.adventuresinvinyl.com where you can find links to our episodes and through our support section you can find a place to order you very own adventures in vinyl T Shirt.
Un an après l'Hippodrome de Longchamp, AC/DC annonce son retour à Paris pour deux concerts événements au Stade de France, les 9 et 13 août 2025. La grande tournée Arena Tour d'Indochine a démarré et lors d'un show à Lyon, Nicola Sirkis a tenu des propos politiques. Jack White a été rejoint sur scène par sa fille, Scarlett, lors de son concert à l'Irving Plaza à New York, lundi soir pour l'accompagner en live sur la première des deux chansons du rappel. Jeremy Strong, connu pour son rôle dans Succession, incarnera Jon Landau, le manager emblématique de Bruce Springsteen, dans le biopic ‘'Deliver Me From Nowhere'' aux côtés de Jeremy Allen White (The Bear). Mots-Clés : Australiens, tournées, places, surprise, date française, mec, est, Moscou, enfant, mort, Gaza, Côte d'Azur, monde, droite, gauche, stop, Donald Trump, Vladimir Poutine, vidéo, virale, réseaux sociaux, débat, aînée, Karen Elson, basse, père, No Name, Archbishop Harold Holmes, Underground, période charnière, carrière, Boss, enregistrement, Nebraska, 1982, histoire, mentorat, The Apprentice, Roy, Méphistophélès, force lumineuse, évangile, espoir, amour, remède, obscurité. --- Classic 21 vous informe des dernières actualités du rock, en Belgique et partout ailleurs. Le Journal du Rock, en direct chaque jour à 7h30 et 18h30 sur votre radio rock'n'pop. Merci pour votre écoute Plus de contenus de Classic 21 sur www.rtbf.be/classic21 Ecoutez-nous en live ici: https://www.rtbf.be/radio/liveradio/classic21 ou sur l'app Radioplayer BelgiqueRetrouvez l'ensemble des contenus de la RTBF sur notre plateforme Auvio.be Et si vous avez apprécié ce podcast, n'hésitez pas à nous donner des étoiles ou des commentaires, cela nous aide à le faire connaître plus largement. Découvrez nos autres podcasts : Le journal du Rock : https://audmns.com/VCRYfsPComic Street (BD) https://audmns.com/oIcpwibLa chronique économique : https://audmns.com/NXWNCrAHey Teacher : https://audmns.com/CIeSInQHistoires sombres du rock : https://audmns.com/ebcGgvkCollection 21 : https://audmns.com/AUdgDqHMystères et Rock'n Roll : https://audmns.com/pCrZihuLa mauvaise oreille de Freddy Tougaux : https://audmns.com/PlXQOEJRock&Sciences : https://audmns.com/lQLdKWRCook as You Are: https://audmns.com/MrmqALPNobody Knows : https://audmns.com/pnuJUlDPlein Ecran : https://audmns.com/gEmXiKzRadio Caroline : https://audmns.com/WccemSkAinsi que nos séries :Rock Icons : https://audmns.com/pcmKXZHRock'n Roll Heroes: https://audmns.com/bXtHJucFever (Erotique) : https://audmns.com/MEWEOLpEt découvrez nos animateurs dans cette série Close to You : https://audmns.com/QfFankx
Jeremy Allen White, star of The Bear, transforms into Bruce Springsteen in Deliver Me from Nowhere, capturing the making of Springsteen's iconic 1982 album Nebraska. Filming has brought the Jersey Shore back to the '80s, with Asbury Park hotspots like the Stone Pony and Carousel House getting retro makeovers. Scenes feature White belting Little Richard's “Lucille” and iconic locations like Frank's Deli and Montclair Library. Directed by Scott Cooper and starring Jeremy Strong as manager Jon Landau, this 20th Century Studios film promises a 2025 release. With concert scenes ahead, it's a must-watch homage to The Boss.
Après James Cameron et le directeur de la photographie Russell Carpenter, Capture Mag réunit les réalisateur français Jérémie Périn (MARS EXPRESS) et Jan Kounen (DOBERMANN, 99 FRANCS, prochainement L'HOMME QUI RETRECIT) dans l'enceinte de l'exposition L'Art de James Cameron, à la Cinémathèque Française. À cette occasion, les deux cinéastes parlent de leur rapport à l'œuvre du réalisateur de TERMINATOR et AVATAR, en revenant sur leur découverte de ses films, mais aussi leurs références et thématiques communes. Et en réagissant aux œuvres exposées, Jan et Jérémie parlent de leur processus créatif, de l'utilisation du dessin dans la conception de leurs films à leur implication sur les enjeux technologiques. En bonus, Jan Kounen raconte l'étonnante proposition que Jon Landau, alors producteur d'AVATAR, a faite à McGuff ligne, après avoir découvert BLUEBERRY, L'EXPERIENCE SECRETE.Crédits photos : Aurélie Lamachère, DR.Pour nous soutenir, il y a deux adresses.PATREON : https://www.patreon.com/capturemagTIPEEE : https://www.tipeee.com/capture-magPour acheter notre mag CAPTURE MAG N°1 - LE CINÉMA DE WILLIAM FRIEDKIN, rendez-vous chez votre libraire ou site marchand (Fnac, Amazon, etc.).Akileos : https://bit.ly/AkiFriedLibrairies indépendantes : https://www.librairiesindependantes.com/product/9782355746161/Pour acheter notre livre CAPTURE MAG 2012-2022 : NOTRE DÉCENNIE DE CINÉMA, rendez-vous chez votre libraire ou site marchand.Akileos : https://bit.ly/CapMookLibrairies indépendantes : https://bit.ly/AchTMookRetrouvez toutes nos émissions sur http://www.capturemag.frEn MP3 sur Acast : https://bit.ly/3v6ee7sSur SPOTIFY : https://spoti.fi/3PJYnF3Sur DEEZER : https://bit.ly/2wtDauUSur APPLE podcasts : https://apple.co/2UW3AyOSur Google Podcasts : https://bit.ly/39W69oR#avatar #terminator #aliens Hébergé par Acast. Visitez acast.com/privacy pour plus d'informations.
fWotD Episode 2641: Darkness on the Edge of Town Welcome to Featured Wiki of the Day, your daily dose of knowledge from Wikipedia’s finest articles.The featured article for Sunday, 28 July 2024 is Darkness on the Edge of Town.Darkness on the Edge of Town is the fourth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on June 2, 1978, by Columbia Records. The album was recorded after a series of legal disputes between Springsteen and his former manager Mike Appel, during sessions in New York City with the E Street Band from June 1977 to March 1978. Springsteen and Jon Landau co-produced, with assistance from bandmate Steven Van Zandt.For the album's lyrics and music, Springsteen took inspiration from sources as diverse as John Steinbeck novels, John Ford films, punk rock, and country music. Musically, the album strips the Wall of Sound production of its predecessor, Born to Run, for a rawer hard rock sound emphasizing the band as a whole. The lyrics on Darkness focus on ill-fortuned characters who fight back against overwhelming odds. Compared to Springsteen's previous records, the characters are older and the songs are less tied to the Jersey Shore area. The cover photograph of Springsteen was taken by Frank Stefanko in his New Jersey home.Released three years after Born to Run, Darkness did not sell as well as its predecessor but reached number five in the US, while its singles—"Prove It All Night", "Badlands", and "The Promised Land"—performed modestly. Springsteen promoted the album on the Darkness Tour, his largest tour up to that point. Upon release, critics praised the album's music and performances but were divided on the lyrical content. It placed on several critics' lists ranking the best albums of the year.In later decades, Darkness has attracted acclaim as one of Springsteen's best works and one that anticipated later records. It has since appeared on various professional lists of the greatest albums of all time. Outtakes from the recording sessions were given to other artists, held-over for Springsteen's next album, The River, or later released on compilations. Darkness was reissued in 2010, accompanied by a documentary detailing the album's making.This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 01:03 UTC on Sunday, 28 July 2024.For the full current version of the article, see Darkness on the Edge of Town on Wikipedia.This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai.Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.Until next time, I'm standard Joanna.
Original Release Date: Monday 22 July 2024 Description: Dean and Phil have thoughts about the recent assassination attempt on former President Trump and these thoughts bring back memories of John Lennon's murder and of vigilante films of the 1970s, especially Taxi Driver as well as the American classic on which it was based, The Searchers. On this week's show, you will hear all that before your friends in podcasting get down to remembering the great Bob Newhart and the singular Shelly Duvall, as well as Oscar-winning producer Jon Landau in "Celebrity Deaths". The "Live Event of the Week" involves Disneyland on its 69th birthday, the invention of audio-animatronics and how Disney was denied toys as a kid. Two movies have Phil's attention, one of whose story (Widow Clicqout) was written by a future guest of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour and the other (Bodies Bodies Bodies) an A24 satire on both WiFi culture and Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians. Watching it was part of Phil's efforts to see everything in which actress Rachel Sennott has appeared. Finally, the Emmy Awards nominations get discussed and Dean's viewing habits get put to the test!
Klein, fein und bunt treffen auf laut, hoch und fies: zur einen Seite gehören TWISTERS, der bereits seit gestern seine Runden dreht, LOVE LIES BLEEDING, der schon bereits durch diverse Festivals auf sich aufmerksam machen konnte und I.S.S., der bereits schon länger existiert, aber nun endlich auch mal den Weg in unseren Orbit gefunden hat. Zur anderen Seite Antje, Eddie und Schröck, die wie immer auch noch ein paar Mediatheken- und Streaming-Tipps am Start, zu denen unter anderem der Überraschungs-Hit WO DIE LÜGE HINFÄLLT, der Dauerbrenner EDGE OF TOMORROW, der sympathische Größenwahn namens BABYLON: RAUSCH DER EXTASE, das ewige Hin und Her alias TENET und ein Newcomer in Form von THE MOON gehören. Plus: EVERYTHING; EVERYWHERE, ALL AT ONCE, THE IMPOSSIBLE und APOCALYPSE NOW - FINAL CUT, die bei verschiedenen TV-Sendern im Online-Angebot aufgetaucht sind. Zuvor wollen die Drei aber mal wieder ein paar News bequatschen, eben weil wir das so direkt schon lange nicht mehr gemacht haben und aus Respekt für eine ganze Reihe von Menschen, die leider von uns gegangen sind. Angefangen bei DONALD SUTHERLAND über JON LANDAU bis jüngst SHANNON DOHERTY oder SHELLEY DUVALL. Dazu geht es aber auch noch um das Schicksal von THE TOXIC AVENGER, die Rückkehr von DER TEUFEL TRÄGT PRADA, den neuen Agenten-Film von NICOLAS WINDING REFN, die neue ALIEN-Serie oder ein paar Ideen wie und mit wem es bei den AVENGERS weiter gehen könnte. Stichwort Marvel: Am Sonntag kommt noch ein TEASE ME, wo wir unter anderem auf das Remake von THE KILLER und CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD reagieren. In dieser Folge Kinoplus gibt es ansonsten nur noch das, was Eddie und Antje zuletzt gesehen haben - THE BIKERIDERS und DINNER FÜR SPINNER - eine kleine Diskussion zu Glen Powell und jede Menge gute Laune. Dabei wünschen wir Euch nun viel Spaß, habt auch viel Spaß im Kino oder auf der Couch, bleibt gesund und gut drauf und lasst Euch auf dem Heimweg bloß von keinem Sturm erwischen. In diesem Sinne: auf Wettersehen. Ok, is schon spät, bye. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Thaddeus and Chauncey return from the 4th of July break to celebrate John Johnson returning to the Rams, bemoan the latest Dodgers injuries and their brutal last month, and roll their eyes at the Lakers lack of an off-season. They also discuss Team USA Basketball. Later, they review the trailers for "Kite Man: Hell Yeah", "Captain America: Brave New World", and "Agatha: All Along", as well as the latest episodes of "The Boys". Afterwards, they give their thoughts on "The Acolyte", and the trailers for "F1", and "Gladiator II". Chauncey gives some eulogies for Jon Landau, Robert Towne, and Shelley Duvall. Finally, they share what they've watched including "Beverly Hills Cop: Axel AF", "The 1 Percent Club", "House of the Dragon", and more.LA PODFIDENTIAL is brought to you by Underdog Fantasy and is part of the LAFB PODCAST NETWORKUse promo code "lapod" for up to $100 matched on your first bet.Follow us on Twitter: @bigchaunc64 and on Instagram: @bigchaunc64
Movie News Monday (recorded July 8th) - The passing of Jon Landau. The Neil Gaiman allegations. Paramount and Skydance merged. Futurama coming back in July 29th. WWE news- Money in the Bank results and thoughts. Gaming News Wednesday (recorded July 10th) - Breaking News: BOOGIE LIED! Pirahna Bytes shut down by Embracer Group. RGG Studio teased a new 'Like a Dragon Game. Xbox Gamepass prices going up. The GTAV canceled content confirmed. Thoughts on the Battlefield 2042-Dead Space crossover. Shadows of the Damned remaster coming. New Bioshock news! Music News Friday (recorded July 12th) - Thoughts on 'The Death of Slim Shady'. 'Filth' by a Killer's Confession. Prepackaged by Mushroomhead. Ice Nine Kills and Reel Big Fish covering 'Walking on Sunshine'. Clutch working on new music. Ghost dropping 'Rite Here Rite Now' online. Jojo Siwa rips off Tool's design. Danny Elfman sued! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sebastian-martinez87/support
This week's Empire Podcast has another brace of cracking guests, as Maika Monroe returns to the show to talk about her terrifying new horror film, Longlegs [25:43 - 39:01 approx], and inadvertently inspires Chris Hewitt to launch the Empire Podcast Hall Of Fame for repeat guests. Meanwhile, making his debut on the pod is the great Griffin Dunne, star of An American Werewolf In London and After Hours, who sits down with Chris in the podbooth to talk about his memoir, The Friday Afternoon Club: A Family Memoir. [59:29 - 1:19:24 approx] It's a conversation that runs the gauntlet from the funny to the tragic, and we hope he comes back many times — a Hall Of Fame spot awaits. Either side of those, Chris is joined in the podbooth by Helen O'Hara and Alex Godfrey to tackle a listener question that allows them to talk in depth about the Gladiator II trailer, discuss the rest of the week's movie news, including a heartfelt tribute to the Avatar producer Jon Landau (this episode was recorded before we learned of the sad death of Shelley Duvall), and review Despicable Me 4, Longlegs, In A Violent Nature, Eno, Fly Me To The Moon, and Hundreds Of Beavers. Which, despite what you may think, is not the name of the porno that James Dyer was definitely not making in lieu of this week's show. Enjoy.
En el ecuador del mes de julio seguimos planteando nuestra apuesta de cine sonoro para el recuerdo homenajeando con Mary Carmen Rodríguez a la actriz Eva Marie Saint que llega viva a su centenario siendo en este momento la ganadora del Oscar de más edad. Los 50 años de un clásico del cine negro como “Chinatown” de Roman Polanski e In Memoriam dedicado a su guionista, Robert Towne. No podemos olvidar tampoco al productor Jon Landau, artífice de “Titanic” y “Avatar” que nos dejó la pasada semana. Abrimos el diván para hablar de la vertiente psicológica e histórica de “La última sesión de Freud” con Adrián Ramos Domínguez, las recomendaciones de Colgados de la plataforma y la crítica de las favoritas “Casa en llamas” y “Fuera de temporada”. Con Spooky a los mandos técnicos. ¡Muchas gracias por escucharnos!
On this episode of THE HOT MIC, Jeff Sneider and John Rocha discuss the big entertainment news of the week including Shawn Levy and Lucasfilm hiring Jonathan Trooper (The Adam Project, This is Where I Leave You) to write Levy's Star Wars movie, new details on the Paramount and Skydance merger, the Gladiator II, F1, We Live in Time and Time Bandits trailers, Kevin Costner's HORIZON PART 2 release delayed, Marvel announces new X-Men '97 writer replacing Beau DeMayo, Jennifer Lawrence's next project, tributes for Jon Landau and Robert Towne, rumors that the Russos were turned down for Avengers 5, Sam Raimi's, a Fistful of Dollars remake and Emma Stone Bartman movie.#marvel #DC #STARWARS ____________________________________________________________________________________Chapters:0:00 Intro and Rundown2:15 Disney Taps Jonathan Tropper to Write Shawn Levy Star Wars Movie9:45 NEW Paramount/Skydance Merger Details, How Do They Fix Paramount26:43 X-Men '97 Replaces Beau DeMayo with Matthew Chauncey29:30 Gladiator II, F1, Time Bandits, and We Live In Time Trailer Talk43:45 Horizon Chapter 2 An American Saga is Delayed49:25 Jennifer Lawrence, Sam Raimi, Fistful of Dollars Remake, Emma Stone News1:00:45 Jon Landau and Robert Towne Tributes1:06:52 Streamlabs and Superchat QuestionsFollow John Rocha: https://twitter.com/TheRochaSaysFollow Jeff Sneider: https://twitter.com/TheInSneiderBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-hot-mic-with-jeff-sneider-and-john-rocha--5632767/support.
In a little shortyboi pod (and, after some technical difficulties), Pol, Bud, & Kirsten chat Gladiator II (No Dumb Colons), the Longlegs mystery, and what we're NOT watching because it's summer. Bud's Weekly Geek-out 09:48 – Nike killing Adapt BB app Coming Soon 11:44 – Agatha All Along (Disney+ series, September 18) 14:25 – Gladiator II (No Stupid Subtitle) (in theatres November 22) (Zoner Mary) 18:20 – Severance (Apple TV+ series, S2 date announcement, January 17) 20:41 – Deadpool & Wolverine & The Bachlorette? (in theatres July 26) 21:16 – Time Bandits (Apple TV+ series, July 24) 24:34 – Longlegs (in theatres July 12, IMDB/possible spoilers) 27:02 – Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Paramount+ series, August 9) 28:40 – AfrAId (in theatres August 30) 29:55 – Anthony Mackie in the new Cap suit Geek News Proper 31:25 – Jon Landau, Titanic & Avatar producer, dies at 63 32:22 – Neil Gaiman bad? 33:00 – Inside Out 2 good? Reviews and Recommendayshes 35:27 – The Boys Extro! 37:00 – What we're NOT watching because it's summer 40:12 – Baseball, tho' Join The Geek-out Podcast's Facebook page (where we'll release new episodes, and where you can talk with us) and Facebook group (where fans of the podcast can gather and talk geeky stuff)! Questions? Comments? Corrections? Suggestions? e-mail geekout@TheZone.fm Subscribe to The Zone's Geek-out Podcast on Apple Podcasts. Or, copypasta this link to subscribe using your podcatcher of choice: https://omny.fm/shows/the-geek-out-podcast/playlists/podcast.rss And, get more Zone podcasty goodness at TheZone.fm/podcast
Con ocasión del estreno de "Bikeriders, la ley del asfalto", José María Aresté, Pablo de Santiago y Juan Luis Sánchez –del equipo de Decine21–, comentan el film. También rememoran la figura del productor Jon Landau, recientemente fallecido, y recuerdan el estreno de "Fly Me To the Moon". Como viene siendo habitual, los contertulios recomiendan una película reciente, una serie y un clásico.
On this week's episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) discuss the merger of Skydance and Paramount and David Ellison's place in the Hollywood firmament. Then we review Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, a legacyquel of the highest caliber! (It's fine.) Make sure to swing by Friday for our bonus episode on Jon Landau and a tribute to producers more generally. And if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend!
This week on the InSession Film Podcast, we round out the 1940s of our Best Picture Movie Series as we discuss Robert Rossen's 1949 winner ALL THE KING'S MEN! Plus, some discussion on the MIAMI VICE discourse and we rank the ten Best Picture winners of the 1940s. - Miami Vice Discourse (0:35) - Is the Parade On? (28:43) - F1 Trailer (36:03) - 1940s Best Picture Ranking (51:25) - RIP Robert Towne and Jon Landau (1:02:28) - All the King's Men (1:15:21) Visit https://insessionfilm.com for merch and more! Visit this episode's sponsor: https://koffeekult.com - Get 15% OFF with the code: ISF24 Visit this episode's sponsor: https://audibletrial.com/InSessionFilm - Get 30 days for free and a free audiobook! Thanks for listening and be sure to subscribe on your podcast app of choice! https://insessionfilm.com/subscribe Follow us on Twitter! @InSessionFilm | @RealJDDuran | @BrendanJCassidy
On this episode of Earthling Entertainment, it's a gaggle of ghosts! Joe & Ryan explore six terrifying hauntings that will chill you to the bone. Then, we discuss a new eyewitness report from the Red Rocks mass sighting.What highly anticipated Netflix series has just been canceled? Can buying “The Legend of Zelda” merchandise land you in jail? Finally we say goodbye to the Oscar winning producer, Jon Landau. All this and more on this week's Earthling Entertainment!
Steven Ujifusa has a passion for oceanliners. The companies who build and ran them and the passengers who sailed on them - many immigrants coming to America to start a new life. In his book The Last Ships from Hamburg: Business, Rivalry, and the Race to Save Russia's Jews on the Eve of World War Steven explores the lives of the Jewish immigrants who fled Europe before war broke out.The Wall Street Journal calls it "Absorbing . . . a David-and-Goliath tale of the industrial age."In his book, Steven includes the stories of Jewish families on Titanic, having first learnt about the Ship of Dreams from his Jewish grandmother who told him about the bravery of the Straus's who didn't get into a lifeboat when given a chance. Ida would not leave the sinking ship because she couldn't imagine life without her husband, Isador, and they both perished.Learn some fascinating news facts and more history of the ship Nelson and Alexandra love to talk about on Titanic TalkSteven's WebsiteNelson and Alexandra also take a few minutes to remember Jon Landau - producer of Titanic and Avatar - who passed away last week.#titanic #titanicbook #jonlandau #jamescameronGo to www.shipofdreamsfilm.com and subscribe to our newsletter and for links and details of 2024 screenings in UK, Australia and New Zealand.TITANIC TALK Official Merchandise now on sale HERET-shirts, hoodies, baseball caps and mugs - the perfect gift for your favourite TitaniacFor more information on where to watchSHIP OF DREAMS: TITANIC MOVIE DIARIES go toshipofdreamsfilm.comShip of Dreams on FacebookShip of Dreams on TikTokWatch TITANIC TALK on YouTube go to ~TITANIC TALK YouTubeInstagram @titanic_talk_podcastFacebookFollow NelsonInstagram @nelsonaspenTwitter @nelsonaspenFollow Alexandra Instagram @fstclsswmn Twitter @alexactwrdir...
On the version of Hot off the Wire posted July 8 at 7:15 a.m. CT: MATAGORDA, Texas (AP) — The National Weather Service says Beryl has made landfall on the middle Texas coast near Matagorda with a dangerous storm surge and strong winds. The storm’s center hit land as a Category 1 hurricane around 4 a.m. Monday about 85 miles southwest of Houston with top sustained winds of 80 mph while moving north at 12 mph. WASHINGTON (AP) — Deeply torn over President Joe Biden’s candidacy, Democratic lawmakers are returning to Washington at a pivotal moment. They are deciding whether to work to revive Biden's campaign or edge out the party leader after his dismal performance in the debate. The Justice Department says Boeing has agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud charge stemming from two deadly crashes of 737 Max jetliners. Now it’s up to a federal judge whether to accept the plea and a sentence that is part of the aerospace giant’s deal with U.S. prosecutors. KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Officials in Ukraine say a major Russian missile attack has killed at least 28 people and injured almost 100 across the country. One missile struck a large children’s hospital in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and emergency crews searched the rubble for casualties. PARIS (AP) — Election results show French voters have chosen to give a broad leftist coalition the most parliamentary seats in pivotal legislative elections. That keeps the far right away from power. Yet no party has won an outright majority, putting France in an uncertain, unprecedented situation. President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance arrived in second position and the far right in third. In other news: Biden tells supporters to 'stick together' amid growing calls for him to leave the presidential race. Donald Trump denies knowing about Project 2025, his allies' sweeping plan to transform the US government. Can you 'Trump-proof' NATO As Biden falters, Europeans look to safeguard the military alliance. Second gentleman Doug Emhoff tests positive for COVID. Vice President Harris has tested negative. House Republicans unite on spending cuts to non-defense programs, but Senate roadblock awaits. ‘Despicable Me 4’ debuts with $122.6M as boom times return to the box office. Alec Baldwin is about to go on trial in the death of a cinematographer. Here are key things to know. Jon Landau, Oscar-winning 'Titanic' and 'Avatar' producer, dies at 63. Major League Baseball fills out its rosters for the upcoming All-Star Game, the Yankees downward spiral continues, the Royals end their losing skid, the Braves finish off a series win over the Phillies, the Mets use a late comeback to get back to .500, Giannis Antetokounmpo leads his national team to an Olympic berth, the top American woman is upset at Wimbledon, a long winless drought ends in NASCAR, and Davis Thompson sets a record en route to his first career PGA Tour win. Hundreds of mostly exiled Tibetans celebrate the Dalai Lama's 89th birthday in India's Dharamshala In this week's religiona roundup, a judge rules school shooter's writings can't be released, the Vatican excommunicates it's former ambassador to the U.S. —The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is managing editor of the national newsroom for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the former producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate.
AP correspondent Haya Panjwani reports on the death of the Oscar-winning producer behind some of the biggest blockbusters.
*) Hamas condemns targeting of school sheltering Palestinians The Palestinian resistance group Hamas has condemned Israel's targeting of a UN agency school which shelters displaced residents in central Gaza. Palestine's Health Ministry in Gaza stated that Israeli forces committed a “massacre” at the school in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the besieged enclave, killing 16 Palestinians and injuring 50 others. Hamas demanded the international community and the UN take immediate action to stop the ongoing war crimes committed by Israel in Gaza. The attack comes as Israel's war on the territory enters its ninth month. *) Israeli delegation heads to Qatar for Gaza ceasefire talks An Israeli negotiating team will leave on Monday for Qatar to continue talks on a hostage swap deal and ceasefire in Gaza with Palestinian factions, according to Israeli media, citing informed sources. Israeli media reported that CIA Director William Burns, Mossad Chief David Barnea, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and Egyptian Intelligence Chief Abbas Kamel will participate in these discussions. *) Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger sign 'confederation' treaty The military leaders ruling Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger entered a new "confederation" as they signed a treaty during their first summit in Niamey, after having severed ties with an existing West African bloc. The heads of the three countries, who took power through coups in recent years, "decided to take a step further towards greater integration between the member states" and "adopted a treaty establishing a confederation". The "Confederation of Sahel States", which will use the acronym AES, will group some 72 million people. *) Ethnic fighters advance into key north Myanmar town Myanmar ethnic minority fighters were battling their way into a town housing a regional military command. Soldiers were "surrounding" the northern Shan state town of Lashio, home to the junta's northeastern command, an official of the National Liberation Army (TNLA) said. A member of a local group of volunteers said that at least 16 civilians had been killed since fighting broke out in Lashio. *) Oscar-winning producer, Jon Landau dies at 63 Jon Landau, an Oscar-winning producer who worked closely with director James Cameron on three of the biggest blockbusters of all time, “Titanic” and two “Avatar” films, has died. He was 63. Landau's partnership with Cameron led to three Oscar nominations and a best picture win for 1997's “Titanic.”
Újdonságok a Netflixen: 4 premierfilm és sorozat, amit a jövő héten nézhetsz Mafab 2024-07-06 17:12:02 Film Kánikula Netflix Dokumentumfilm A Netflix a következő héten is gondoskodik szórakoztatásunkról, ha elvonulnánk a nyári hőség elől otthonainkba. Dokumentumfilm, krim, thriller, romantika, dráma és animációs produkció is vár ránk a képernyőink előtt. A hét legerősebb címe valószínűleg Az éj leple alatt lesz, de érdemes átböngészni a kínálatot a további izgalmas címekért. Listánkba Django Reinhardt, aki soha nem tanult zenélni, és egy romatelepről lett a világ legjobb gitárosa Tudás.hu 2024-07-07 05:43:52 Zene Képzeljünk el egy embert, aki romaként 1910 és 1953 között, két igazán tragikus világháború alatt élt Franciaországban. Már ez sem ígér könnyű életet, ráadásul az autodidakta zenész 18 évesen bennégett egy lakókocsiban. Két ujját is elveszítette, újra kellett tanulnia a zenélést, de így is ő lett a legnagyobb jazzgitáros. Woody Allennek van egy rem Bob Dylan szembesít minket a csábítás kígyójával kultura.hu 2024-07-06 17:00:00 Könyv Bob Dylan Azt mondja Bob Dylan, hogy „az életben a legjobb dolgok ingyen vannak”. Ez majdnem igaz, ugyanakkor A modern dal filozófiája című könyvét meg kell vásárolnunk, azt nem adják csak a két szép szemünkért, viszont cserébe kapunk egy remek esszékötetet a nagybetűs életről, amit hívhatunk popnak is. Rettegett, hogy négygyerekes anyaként elhagyják NLC 2024-07-06 17:07:27 Film Párkapcsolat Olimpia Norvégia Négy gyerek mellett jól működő, boldog házasságot fenntartani hasonló teljesítmény, mint dobogóra állni egy olimpián. Amikor Maria észreveszi, hogy nekik nem megy, rettegni kezd, hogy a férje magára hagyja őt. A Loveable (Szerethető) egy csodás norvég film arról, hogy először önmagunkat kell szeretnünk ahhoz, hogy mások is szeressenek minket. Szász Júlia megírta: Vidnyánszky nem mond igazat, nem utaltak 5 milliót Librarius 2024-07-07 07:59:52 Színpad Szász Júlia: A cikkben olvasható némely állítás nem teljesen felel meg a valóságnak, ezeket most tisztázni szeretném. A Squid Game betegebb, sötétebb párja is befutott Koreából Telex 2024-07-07 08:03:54 Film Los Angeles Streamingajánló a Los Angeles Clippers botrányos évét feldolgozó sorozattal, Oscar-díjas tárgyalótermi drámával és a legizgalmasabb magyar rövidfilmekkel. A szicíliai herceget is döntésre kényszerítette Garibaldi partraszállása – Olvass bele A Párducba! Könyves Magazin 2024-07-06 23:00:43 Könyv Olaszország Szicília Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa régóta fontolgatta, hogy történelmi regényt írjon dédapja, a szicíliai Don Giulio Fabrizio Tomasi hercegének emlékére. A könyvét már csak halála után, 1958-ban adták ki. Egy év alatt negyven kiadást ért meg, és azonnal világsiker lett. Nyitókép: jelenet A párduc (1963) című filmből. Meghalt a Titanic és az Avatar Oscar-díjas producere Blikk 2024-07-07 08:43:04 Film Titanic Avatar James Cameron Július 5-én 63 éves korában elhunyt Jon Landau, a Titanic és mindkét Avatar-film Oscar-díjas producere. Landau James Cameron régi partnereként állt a kasszasikerek mögött, amelyek történelmi bevételi rekordokat döntöttek meg. Az elismert producer munkássága és szenvedélye maradandó hatással lesz a filmiparra. Hivatalos: érkezik a Szemfényvesztők harmadik része Hamu és Gyémánt 2024-07-07 09:57:00 Film Mozi Franchise Fontos bejelentéssel kedvez a bűvészekről szóló franchise rajongóinak a Lionsgate: a Szemfényvesztők harmadik része a Collider szerint 2025. november 14-én érkezik a mozikba. A bölcs Renz doktor és a pofozkodó Matula léptette új korszakába a német krimit 24.hu 2024-07-06 17:03:39 Film A Két férfi, egy eset című sorozat feltűnésekor Matula és Renz doktor egészen új irányt képviseltek a német krimiben. Mi volt a kettősben az újdonság, miért lehetett vonzó a nézőknek az önfejű, hebrencs Matula, és hogyan fogadták a magyar nézők? Mata Ricsi: "Szobafestő-mázoló vagyok, és ritkán, de azért még vannak fellépéseim is" Story 2024-07-07 09:00:41 Bulvár X-Faktor Petics Kristóf A fiatal énekes az X-Faktor hatodik szériájában először be sem jutott az élő show-ba, majd Petics Kristóf kizárása miatt kapott lehetőséget. A további adásainkat keresd a podcast.hirstart.hu oldalunkon.
Újdonságok a Netflixen: 4 premierfilm és sorozat, amit a jövő héten nézhetsz Mafab 2024-07-06 17:12:02 Film Kánikula Netflix Dokumentumfilm A Netflix a következő héten is gondoskodik szórakoztatásunkról, ha elvonulnánk a nyári hőség elől otthonainkba. Dokumentumfilm, krim, thriller, romantika, dráma és animációs produkció is vár ránk a képernyőink előtt. A hét legerősebb címe valószínűleg Az éj leple alatt lesz, de érdemes átböngészni a kínálatot a további izgalmas címekért. Listánkba Django Reinhardt, aki soha nem tanult zenélni, és egy romatelepről lett a világ legjobb gitárosa Tudás.hu 2024-07-07 05:43:52 Zene Képzeljünk el egy embert, aki romaként 1910 és 1953 között, két igazán tragikus világháború alatt élt Franciaországban. Már ez sem ígér könnyű életet, ráadásul az autodidakta zenész 18 évesen bennégett egy lakókocsiban. Két ujját is elveszítette, újra kellett tanulnia a zenélést, de így is ő lett a legnagyobb jazzgitáros. Woody Allennek van egy rem Bob Dylan szembesít minket a csábítás kígyójával kultura.hu 2024-07-06 17:00:00 Könyv Bob Dylan Azt mondja Bob Dylan, hogy „az életben a legjobb dolgok ingyen vannak”. Ez majdnem igaz, ugyanakkor A modern dal filozófiája című könyvét meg kell vásárolnunk, azt nem adják csak a két szép szemünkért, viszont cserébe kapunk egy remek esszékötetet a nagybetűs életről, amit hívhatunk popnak is. Rettegett, hogy négygyerekes anyaként elhagyják NLC 2024-07-06 17:07:27 Film Párkapcsolat Olimpia Norvégia Négy gyerek mellett jól működő, boldog házasságot fenntartani hasonló teljesítmény, mint dobogóra állni egy olimpián. Amikor Maria észreveszi, hogy nekik nem megy, rettegni kezd, hogy a férje magára hagyja őt. A Loveable (Szerethető) egy csodás norvég film arról, hogy először önmagunkat kell szeretnünk ahhoz, hogy mások is szeressenek minket. Szász Júlia megírta: Vidnyánszky nem mond igazat, nem utaltak 5 milliót Librarius 2024-07-07 07:59:52 Színpad Szász Júlia: A cikkben olvasható némely állítás nem teljesen felel meg a valóságnak, ezeket most tisztázni szeretném. A Squid Game betegebb, sötétebb párja is befutott Koreából Telex 2024-07-07 08:03:54 Film Los Angeles Streamingajánló a Los Angeles Clippers botrányos évét feldolgozó sorozattal, Oscar-díjas tárgyalótermi drámával és a legizgalmasabb magyar rövidfilmekkel. A szicíliai herceget is döntésre kényszerítette Garibaldi partraszállása – Olvass bele A Párducba! Könyves Magazin 2024-07-06 23:00:43 Könyv Olaszország Szicília Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa régóta fontolgatta, hogy történelmi regényt írjon dédapja, a szicíliai Don Giulio Fabrizio Tomasi hercegének emlékére. A könyvét már csak halála után, 1958-ban adták ki. Egy év alatt negyven kiadást ért meg, és azonnal világsiker lett. Nyitókép: jelenet A párduc (1963) című filmből. Meghalt a Titanic és az Avatar Oscar-díjas producere Blikk 2024-07-07 08:43:04 Film Titanic Avatar James Cameron Július 5-én 63 éves korában elhunyt Jon Landau, a Titanic és mindkét Avatar-film Oscar-díjas producere. Landau James Cameron régi partnereként állt a kasszasikerek mögött, amelyek történelmi bevételi rekordokat döntöttek meg. Az elismert producer munkássága és szenvedélye maradandó hatással lesz a filmiparra. Hivatalos: érkezik a Szemfényvesztők harmadik része Hamu és Gyémánt 2024-07-07 09:57:00 Film Mozi Franchise Fontos bejelentéssel kedvez a bűvészekről szóló franchise rajongóinak a Lionsgate: a Szemfényvesztők harmadik része a Collider szerint 2025. november 14-én érkezik a mozikba. A bölcs Renz doktor és a pofozkodó Matula léptette új korszakába a német krimit 24.hu 2024-07-06 17:03:39 Film A Két férfi, egy eset című sorozat feltűnésekor Matula és Renz doktor egészen új irányt képviseltek a német krimiben. Mi volt a kettősben az újdonság, miért lehetett vonzó a nézőknek az önfejű, hebrencs Matula, és hogyan fogadták a magyar nézők? Mata Ricsi: "Szobafestő-mázoló vagyok, és ritkán, de azért még vannak fellépéseim is" Story 2024-07-07 09:00:41 Bulvár X-Faktor Petics Kristóf A fiatal énekes az X-Faktor hatodik szériájában először be sem jutott az élő show-ba, majd Petics Kristóf kizárása miatt kapott lehetőséget. A további adásainkat keresd a podcast.hirstart.hu oldalunkon.
May 9 1974 - Bruce Springsteen performed a show that is considered to be a watershed moment in his career. A local photographer, Barry Schneier, had seen Bruce perform a few months earlier and suggested to the promoter that Bruce should open for Bonnie Raitt that night at The Harvard Square Theatre, Cambridge, MA. The promoter agreed and Bruce was booked in to perform at short notice. Also in the audience that night was Jon Landau, a music critic for Rolling Stone and The Real Paper. What Jon witnessed that night, and would write about afterwards, would alter Bruce's life, and indeed his own. Not only was Barry instrumental in putting Bruce on the bill that famous night, but he was there with his camera to capture this important piece of musical history. For more details on Barry's book 'Bruce Springsteen: Rock and Roll Future' - visit barryschneierphotography.com or any other major online store like 'you know who'! Pull up a chair, pour your favourite drink and rewind 50 years. Enjoy. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jeff-matthews4/message
For those who haven't heard the announcement I just posted , songs from this point on will sometimes be split among multiple episodes, so this is the first part of a multi-episode look at the Byrds in 1966-69 and the birth of country rock. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. Patreon backers also have a half-hour bonus episode on "My World Fell Down" by Sagittarius. Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt's irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/ Resources No Mixcloud at this time as there are too many Byrds songs in this chunk, but I will try to put together a multi-part Mixcloud when all the episodes for this song are up. My main source for the Byrds is Timeless Flight Revisited by Johnny Rogan, I also used Chris Hillman's autobiography, the 331/3 books on The Notorious Byrd Brothers and The Gilded Palace of Sin, For future parts of this multi-episode story I used Barney Hoskyns' Hotel California and John Einarson's Desperadoes as general background on Californian country-rock, Calling Me Hone, Gram Parsons and the Roots of Country Rock by Bob Kealing for information on Parsons, and Requiem For The Timeless Vol 2 by Johnny Rogan for information about the post-Byrds careers of many members. Information on Gary Usher comes from The California Sound by Stephen McParland. And this three-CD set is a reasonable way of getting most of the Byrds' important recordings. Patreon This podcast is brought to you by the generosity of my backers on Patreon. Why not join them? Transcript When we left the Byrds at the end of the episode on "Eight Miles High", they had just released that single, which combined folk-rock with their new influences from John Coltrane and Ravi Shankar, and which was a group composition but mostly written by the group's lead singer, Gene Clark. And also, as we mentioned right at the end of the episode, Clark had left the group. There had been many, many factors leading to Clark's departure. Clark was writing *far* more material than the other band members, of whom only Roger McGuinn had been a writer when the group started, and as a result was making far more money than them, especially with songs like "She Don't Care About Time", which had been the B-side to their number one single "Turn! Turn! Turn!" [Excerpt: The Byrds, "She Don't Care About Time"] Clark's extra income was making the rest of the group jealous, and they also didn't think his songs were particularly good, though many of his songs on the early Byrds albums are now considered classics. Jim Dickson, the group's co-manager, said "Gene would write fifteen to twenty songs a week and you had to find a good one whenever it came along because there were lots of them that you couldn't make head or tail of. They didn't mean anything. We all knew that. Gene would write a good one at a rate of just about one per girlfriend." Chris Hillman meanwhile later said more simply "Gene didn't really add that much." That is, frankly, hard to square with the facts. There are ten original songs on the group's first two albums, plus one original non-album B-side. Of those eleven songs, Clark wrote seven on his own and co-wrote two with McGuinn. But as the other band members were starting to realise that they had the possibility of extra royalties -- and at least to some extent were starting to get artistic ambitions as far as writing goes -- they were starting to disparage Clark's work as a result, calling it immature. Clark had, of course, been the principal writer for "Eight Miles High", the group's most experimental record to date: [Excerpt: The Byrds, "Eight Miles High"] But there he'd shared co-writing credit with David Crosby and Roger McGuinn, in part because that was the only way he could be sure they would agree to release it as a single. There were also internal rivalries within the band unrelated to songwriting -- as we've touched on, Crosby had already essentially bullied Clark off the guitar and into just playing tambourine (and McGuinn would be dismissive even of Clark's tambourine abilities). Crosby's inability to get on with any other member of any band he was in would later become legendary, but at this point Clark was the major victim of his bullying. According to Dickson "David understood when Gene left that ninety-five percent of why Gene left could be brought back to him." The other five percent, though, came from Clark's fear of flying. Clark had apparently witnessed a plane crash in his youth and been traumatised by it, and he had a general terror of flying and planes -- something McGuinn would mock him for a little, as McGuinn was an aviation buff. Eventually, Clark had a near-breakdown boarding a plane from California to New York for a promotional appearance with Murray the K, and ended up getting off the plane. McGuinn and Michael Clarke almost did the same, but in the end they decided to stay on, and the other four Byrds did the press conference without Gene. When asked where Gene was, they said he'd "broken a wing". He was also increasingly having mental health and substance abuse problems, which were exacerbated by his fear, and in the end he decided he just couldn't be a Byrd any more. Oddly, of all the band members, it was David Crosby who was most concerned about Clark's departure, and who did the most to try to persuade him to stay, but he still didn't do much, and the group decided to carry on as a four-piece and not even make a proper announcement of Clark's departure -- they just started putting out photos with four people instead of five. The main change as far as the group were concerned was that Hillman was now covering Clark's old vocal parts, and so Crosby moved to Clark's old centre mic while Hillman moved from his position at the back of the stage with Michael Clarke to take over Crosby's mic. The group now had three singer-instrumentalists in front, two of whom, Crosby and McGuinn, now thought of themselves as songwriters. So despite the loss of their singer/songwriter/frontman, they moved on to their new single, the guaranteed hit follow-up to "Eight Miles High": [Excerpt: The Byrds, "5D (Fifth Dimension)"] "5D" was written by McGuinn, inspired by a book of cartoons called 1-2-3-4 More More More More by Don Landis, which I haven't been able to track down a copy of, but which seems to have been an attempt to explain the mathematical concept of higher dimensions in cartoon form. McGuinn was inspired by this and by Einstein's theory of relativity -- or at least by his understanding of relativity, which does not seem to have been the most informed take on the topic. McGuinn has said in the past that the single should really have come with a copy of Landis' booklet, so people could understand it. Sadly, without the benefit of the booklet we only have the lyrics plus McGuinn's interviews to go on to try to figure out what he means. As far as I'm able to understand, McGuinn believed -- completely erroneously -- that Einstein had proved that along with the four dimensions of spacetime there is also a fifth dimension which McGuinn refers to as a "mesh", and that "the reason for the speed of light being what it is is because of that mesh." McGuinn then went on to identify this mesh with his own conception of God, influenced by his belief in Subud, and with a Bergsonian idea of a life force. He would talk about how most people are stuck in a materialist scientific paradigm which only admits to the existence of three dimensions, and how there are people out there advocating for a five-dimensional view of the world. To go along with this mystic view of the universe, McGuinn wanted some music inspired by the greatest composer of sacred music, and he asked Van Dyke Parks, who was brought in to add keyboards on the session, to play something influenced by Bach -- and Parks obliged, having been thinking along the same lines himself: [Excerpt: The Byrds, "5D (Fifth Dimension)"] Unfortunately for the group, McGuinn's lyrical intention wasn't clear enough and the song was assumed to be about drugs, and was banned by many radio stations. That plus the track's basically uncommercial nature meant that it reached no higher than number forty-four in the charts. Jim Dickson, the group's co-manager, pointed to a simpler factor in the record's failure, saying that if the organ outro to the track had instead been the intro, to set a mood for the track rather than starting with a cold vocal open, it would have had more success. The single was followed by an album, called Fifth Dimension, which was not particularly successful. Of the album's eleven songs, two were traditional folk songs, one was an instrumental -- a jam called "Captain Soul" which was a version of Lee Dorsey's "Get Out My Life Woman" credited to the four remaining Byrds, though Gene Clark is very audible on it playing harmonica -- and one more was a jam whose only lyrics were "gonna ride a Lear jet, baby", repeated over and over. There was also "Eight Miles High" and the group's inept and slightly-too-late take on "Hey Joe". It also included a third single, a country track titled "Mr. Spaceman": [Excerpt: The Byrds, "Mr. Spaceman"] McGuinn and, particularly, Hillman, had some country music background, and both were starting to think about incorporating country sounds into the group's style, as after Clark's departure from the group they were moving away from the style that had characterised their first two albums. But the interest in "Mr. Spaceman" was less about the musical style than about the lyrics. McGuinn had written the song in the hopes of contacting extraterrestrial life -- sending them a message in his lyrics so that any aliens listening to Earth radio would come and visit, though he was later disappointed to realise that the inverse-square law means that the signals would be too faint to make out after a relatively short distance: [Excerpt: The Byrds, "Mr. Spaceman"] "Mr. Spaceman" did better on the charts than its predecessor, scraping the lower reaches of the top forty, but it hardly set the world alight, and neither did the album -- a typical review was the one by Jon Landau, which said in part "This album then cannot be considered up to the standards set by the Byrds' first two and basically demonstrates that they should be thinking in terms of replacing Gene Clark, instead of just carrying on without him." Fifth Dimension would be the only album that Allen Stanton would produce for the Byrds, and his replacement had actually just produced an album that was a Byrds record by any other name: [Excerpt: Gene Clark, "So You Say You've Lost Your Baby"] We've looked at Gary Usher before, but not for some time, and not in much detail. Usher was one of several people who were involved in the scene loosely centred on the Beach Boys and Jan and Dean, though he never had much time for Jan Berry and he had got his own start in the music business slightly before the Beach Boys. As a songwriter, his first big successes had come with his collaborations with Brian Wilson -- he had co-written "409" for the Beach Boys, and had also collaborated with Wilson on some of his earliest more introspective songs, like "The Lonely Sea" and "In My Room", for which Usher had written the lyrics: [Excerpt: The Beach Boys, "In My Room"] Usher had built a career as a producer and writer for hire, often in collaboration with Roger Christian, who also wrote with Brian Wilson and Jan Berry. Usher, usually with Christian, and very occasionally Wilson wrote the songs for several of American International Pictures' Beach Party films: [Excerpt: Donna Loren, "Muscle Bustle"] And Usher and Christian had also had bit parts in some of the films, like Bikini Beach, and Usher had produced records for Annette Funicello, the star of the films, often with the Honeys (a group consisting of Brian Wilson's future wife Marilyn plus her sister and cousin) on backing vocals. He had also produced records for the Surfaris, as well as a whole host of studio-only groups like the Four Speeds, the Super Stocks, and Mr. Gasser and the Weirdoes, most of whom were Usher and the same small group of vocalist friends along with various selections of Wrecking Crew musicians making quick themed albums. One of these studio groups, the Hondells, went on to be a real group of sorts, after Usher and the Beach Boys worked together on a film, The Girls on the Beach. Usher liked a song that Wilson and Mike Love had written for the Beach Boys to perform in the film, "Little Honda", and after discovering that the Beach Boys weren't going to release their version as a single, he put together a group to record a soundalike version: [Excerpt: The Hondells, "Little Honda"] "Little Honda" made the top ten, and Usher produced two albums for the Hondells, who had one other minor hit with a cover version of the Lovin' Spoonful's "Younger Girl". Oddly, Usher's friend Terry Melcher, who would shortly produce the Byrds' first few hits, had also latched on to "Little Honda", and produced his own version of the track, sung by Pat Boone of all people, with future Beach Boy Bruce Johnston on backing vocals: [Excerpt: Pat Boone, "Little Honda"] But when Usher had got his version out first, Boone's was relegated to a B-side. When the Byrds had hit, and folk-rock had started to take over from surf rock, Usher had gone with the flow and produced records like the Surfaris' album It Ain't Me Babe, with Usher and his usual gang of backing vocalists augmenting the Surfaris as they covered hits by Dylan, the Turtles, the Beach Boys and the Byrds: [Excerpt: The Surfaris, "All I Really Want to Do"] Usher was also responsible for the Surfaris being the first group to release a version of "Hey Joe" on a major label, as we heard in the episode on that song: [Excerpt: The Surfaris, "Hey Joe"] After moving between Capitol, Mercury, and Decca Records, Usher had left Decca after a round of corporate restructuring and been recommended for a job at Columbia by his friend Melcher, who at that point was producing Paul Revere and the Raiders and the Rip Chords and had just finished his time as the Byrds' producer. Usher's first work at Columbia was actually to prepare new stereo mixes of some Byrds tracks that had up to that point only been issued in mono, but his first interaction with the Byrds themselves came via Gene Clark: [Excerpt: Gene Clark, "So You Say You've Lost Your Baby"] On leaving the Byrds, Clark had briefly tried to make a success of himself as a songwriter-for-hire in much the same mould as Usher, attempting to write and produce a single for two Byrds fans using the group name The Cookie Fairies, while spending much of his time romancing Michelle Phillips, as we talked about in the episode on "San Francisco". When the Cookie Fairies single didn't get picked up by a label, Clark had put together a group with Bill Rinehart from the Leaves, Chip Douglas of the Modern Folk Quartet, and Joel Larson of the Grass Roots. Just called Gene Clark & The Group, they'd played around the clubs in LA and cut about half an album's worth of demos produced by Jim Dickson and Ed Tickner, the Byrds' management team, before Clark had fired first Douglas and then the rest of the group. Clark's association with Douglas did go on to benefit him though -- Douglas went on, as we've seen in other episodes, to produce hits for the Turtles and the Monkees, and he later remembered an old song by Clark and McGuinn that the Byrds had demoed but never released, "You Showed Me", and produced a top ten hit version of it for the Turtles: [Excerpt: The Turtles, "You Showed Me"] Clark had instead started working with two country singers, Vern and Rex Gosdin, who had previously been with Chris Hillman in the country band The Hillmen. When that band had split up, the Gosdin Brothers had started to perform together as a duo, and in 1967 they would have a major country hit with "Hangin' On": [Excerpt: The Gosdin Brothers, "Hangin' On"] At this point though, they were just Gene Clark's backing vocalists, on an album that had been started with producer Larry Marks, who left Columbia half way through the sessions, at which point Usher took over. The album, titled Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers, featured a mix of musicians from different backgrounds. There were Larson and Rinehart from Gene Clark and the Group, there were country musicians -- a guitarist named Clarence White and the banjo player Doug Dillard. Hillman and Michael Clarke, the Byrds' rhythm section, played on much of the album as a way of keeping a united front, Glen Campbell, Jerry Cole, Leon Russell and Jim Gordon of the Wrecking Crew contributed, and Van Dyke Parks played most of the keyboards. The lead-off single for Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers, "Echoes", is one of the tracks produced by Marks, but in truth the real producer of that track is Leon Russell, who wrote the orchestral arrangement that turned Clark's rough demo into a baroque pop masterpiece: [Excerpt: Gene Clark, "Echoes"] Despite Clark having quit the band, relations between him and the rest were still good enough that in September 1966 he temporarily rejoined the band after Crosby lost his voice, though he was gone again as soon as Crosby was well. But that didn't stop the next Byrds album, which Usher went on to produce straight after finishing work on Clark's record, coming out almost simultaneously with Clark's and, according to Clark, killing its commercial potential. Upon starting to work with the group, Usher quickly came to the conclusion that Chris Hillman was in many ways the most important member of the band. According to Usher "There was also quite a divisive element within the band at that stage which often prevented them working well together. Sometimes everything would go smoothly, but other times it was a hard road. McGuinn and Hillman were often more together on musical ideas. This left Crosby to fend for himself, which I might add he did very well." Usher also said "I quickly came to understand that Hillman was a good stabilising force within the Byrds (when he wanted to be). It was around the time that I began working with them that Chris also became more involved in the songwriting. I think part of that was the fact that he realised how much more money was involved if you actually wrote the songs yourself. And he was a good songwriter." The first single to be released from the new sessions was one that was largely Hillman's work. Hillman and Crosby had been invited by the great South African jazz trumpeter Hugh Masekela to play on some demos for another South African jazzer, singer Letta Mbulu. Details are sparse, but one presumes this was for what became her 1967 album Letta Mbulu Sings, produced by David Axelrod: [Excerpt: Letta Mbulu, "Zola (MRA)"] According to Hillman, that session was an epiphany for him, and he went home and started writing his own songs for the first time. He took one of the riffs he came up with to McGuinn, who came up with a bridge inspired by a song by yet another South African musician, Miriam Makeba, who at the time was married to Masekela, and the two wrote a lyric inspired by what they saw as the cynical manipulation of the music industry in creating manufactured bands like the Monkees -- though they have both been very eager to say that they were criticising the industry, not the Monkees themselves, with whom they were friendly. As Hillman says in his autobiography, "Some people interpreted it as a jab at The Monkees. In reality, we had immense respect for all of them as singers and musicians. We weren't skewering the members of the Monkees, but we were taking a shot at the cynical nature of the entertainment business that will try to manufacture a group like The Monkees as a marketing strategy. For us, it was all about the music, and we were commenting on the pitfalls of the industry rather than on any of our fellow musicians." [Excerpt: The Byrds, "So You Want to be a Rock 'n' Roll Star?"] The track continued the experimentation with sound effects that they had started with the Lear jet song on the previous album. That had featured recordings of a Lear jet, and "So You Want to be a Rock 'n' Roll Star?" featured recordings of audience screams. Those screams were, according to most sources, recorded by Derek Taylor at a Byrds gig in Bournemouth in 1965, but given reports of the tepid response the group got on that tour, that doesn't seem to make sense. Other sources say they're recordings of a *Beatles* audience in Bournemouth in *1963*, the shows that had been shown in the first US broadcast of Beatles footage, and the author of a book on links between the Beatles and Bournemouth says on his blog "In the course of researching Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Beatles & Bournemouth I spoke to two people who saw The Byrds at the Gaumont that August and neither recalled any screaming at all, let alone the wall of noise that can be heard on So You Want To Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star." So it seems likely that screaming isn't for the Byrds, but of course Taylor had also worked for the Beatles. According to Usher "The crowd sound effects were from a live concert that Derek Taylor had taped with a little tape recorder in London. It was some outrageous crowd, something like 20,000 to 30,000 people. He brought the tape in, ran it off onto a big tape, re- EQ'd it, echoed it, cleaned it up and looped it." So my guess is that the audience screams in the Byrds song about the Monkees are for the Beatles, but we'll probably never know for sure: [Excerpt: The Byrds, "So You Want to be a Rock 'n' Roll Star?"] The track also featured an appearance by Hugh Masekela, the jazz trumpeter whose invitation to take part in a session had inspired the song: [Excerpt: The Byrds, "So You Want to be a Rock 'n' Roll Star?"] While Hillman was starting to lean more towards folk and country music -- he had always been the member of the band least interested in rock music -- and McGuinn was most interested in exploring electronic sounds, Crosby was still pushing the band more in the direction of the jazz experimentation they'd tried on "Eight Miles High", and one of the tracks they started working on soon after "So You Want to be a Rock 'n' Roll Star?" was inspired by another jazz trumpet great. Miles Davis had been partly responsible for getting the Byrds signed to Columbia, as we talked about in the episode on "Mr. Tambourine Man", and so the group wanted to pay him tribute, and they started working on a version of his classic instrumental "Milestones": [Excerpt: Miles Davis, "Milestones"] Sadly, while the group worked on their version for several days -- spurred on primarily by Crosby -- they eventually chose to drop the track, and it has never seen release or even been bootlegged, though there is a tiny clip of it that was used in a contemporaneous documentary, with a commentator talking over it: [Excerpt: The Byrds, "Milestones (TV)"] It was apparently Crosby who decided to stop work on the track, just as working on it was also apparently his idea. Indeed, while the biggest change on the album that would become Younger Than Yesterday was that for the first time Chris Hillman was writing songs and taking lead vocals, Crosby was also writing more than before. Hillman wrote four of the songs on the album, plus his co-write with McGuinn on "So You Want to be a Rock 'n' Roll Star?", but Crosby also supplied two new solo compositions, plus a cowrite with McGuinn, and Crosby and McGuinn's "Why?", the B-side to "Eight Miles High", was also dug up and rerecorded for the album. Indeed, Gary Usher would later say "The album was probably 60% Crosby. McGuinn was not that involved, nor was Chris; at least as far as performing was concerned." McGuinn's only composition on the album other than the co-writes with Crosby and Hillman was another song about contacting aliens, "CTA-102", a song about a quasar which at the time some people were speculating might have been evidence of alien life. That song sounds to my ears like it's had some influence from Joe Meek's similar records, though I've never seen McGuinn mention Meek as an influence: [Excerpt: The Byrds, "CTA-102"] Crosby's growing dominance in the studio was starting to rankle with the other members. In particular two tracks were the cause of conflict. One was Crosby's song "Mind Gardens", an example of his increasing experimentation, a freeform song that ignores conventional song structure, and which he insisted on including on the album despite the rest of the group's objections: [Excerpt: The Byrds, "Mind Gardens"] The other was the track that directly followed "Mind Gardens" on the album. "My Back Pages" was a song from Dylan's album Another Side of Bob Dylan, a song many have seen as Dylan announcing his break with the folk-song and protest movements he'd been associated with up to that point, and his intention to move on in a new direction: [Excerpt: Bob Dylan, "My Back Pages"] Jim Dickson, the Byrds' co-manager, was no longer on speaking terms with the band and wasn't involved in their day-to-day recording as he had been, but he'd encountered McGuinn on the street and rolled down his car window and suggested that the group do the song. Crosby was aghast. They'd already recorded several songs from Another Side of Bob Dylan, and Fifth Dimension had been their first album not to include any Dylan covers. Doing a jangly cover of a Dylan song with a McGuinn lead vocal was something they'd moved on from, and he didn't want to go back to 1964 at the end of 1966. He was overruled, and the group recorded their version, a track that signified something very different for the Byrds than the original had for Dylan: [Excerpt: The Byrds, "My Back Pages"] It was released as the second single from the album, and made number thirty. It was the last Byrds single to make the top forty. While he was working with the Byrds, Usher continued his work in the pop field, though as chart pop moved on so did Usher, who was now making records in a psychedelic sunshine pop style with acts like the Peanut Butter Conspiracy: [Excerpt: The Peanut Butter Conspiracy, "It's a Happening Thing"] and he produced Chad and Jeremy's massive concept album Of Cabbages and Kings, which included a five-song "Progress Suite" illustrating history from the start of creation until the end of the world: [Excerpt: Chad and Jeremy, "Editorial"] But one of the oddest projects he was involved in was indirectly inspired by Roger McGuinn. According to Usher "McGuinn and I had a lot in common. Roger would always say that he was "out of his head," which he thought was good, because he felt you had to go out of your head before you could really find your head! That sums up McGuinn perfectly! He was also one of the first people to introduce me to metaphysics, and from that point on I started reading everything I could get my hands on. His viewpoints on metaphysics were interesting, and, at the time, useful. He was also into Marshall McLuhan; very much into the effects of electronics and the electronic transformation. He was into certain metaphysical concepts before I was, but I was able to turn him onto some abstract concepts as well" These metaphysical discussions led to Usher producing an album titled The Astrology Album, with discussions of the meaning of different star signs over musical backing: [Excerpt: Gary Usher, "Leo"] And with interviews with various of the artists he was working with talking about astrology. He apparently interviewed Art Garfunkel -- Usher was doing some uncredited production work on Simon and Garfunkel's Bookends album at the time -- but Garfunkel declined permission for the interview to be used. But he did get both Chad and Jeremy to talk, along with John Merrill of the Peanut Butter Conspiracy -- and David Crosby: [Excerpt: Gary Usher, "Leo"] One of the tracks from that album, "Libra", became the B-side of a single by a group of studio musicians Usher put together, with Glen Campbell on lead vocals and featuring Bruce Johnston of the Beach Boys prominently on backing vocals. "My World Fell Down" was credited to Sagittarius, again a sign of Usher's current interest in astrology, and featured some experimental sound effects that are very similar to the things that McGuinn had been doing on recent Byrds albums: [Excerpt: Sagittarius, "My World Fell Down"] While Usher was continuing with his studio experimentation, the Byrds were back playing live -- and they were not going down well at all. They did a UK tour where they refused to play most of their old hits and went down as poorly as on their previous tour, and they were no longer the kings of LA. In large part this was down to David Crosby, whose ego was by this point known to *everybody*, and who was becoming hugely unpopular on the LA scene even as he was starting to dominate the band. Crosby was now the de facto lead vocalist on stage, with McGuinn being relegated to one or two songs per set, and he was the one who would insist that they not play their older hit singles live. He was dominating the stage, leading to sarcastic comments from the normally placid Hillman like "Ladies and gentlemen, the David Crosby show!", and he was known to do things like start playing a song then stop part way through a verse to spend five minutes tuning up before restarting. After a residency at the Whisky A-Go-Go where the group were blown off the stage by their support act, the Doors, their publicist Derek Taylor quit, and he was soon followed by the group's co-managers Jim Dickson and Eddie Tickner, who were replaced by Crosby's friend Larry Spector, who had no experience in rock management but did represent Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper, two young film stars Crosby was hanging round with. The group were particularly annoyed by Crosby when they played the Monterey Pop Festival. Crosby took most lead vocals in that set, and the group didn't go down well, though instrumentally the worst performer was Michael Clarke, who unlike the rest of the band had never become particularly proficient on his instrument: [Excerpt: The Byrds, "So You Want to be a Rock 'n' Roll Star (live at Monterey)"] But Crosby also insisted on making announcements from the stage advocating LSD use and describing conspiracy theories about the Kennedy assassination: [Excerpt: David Crosby on the Warren Commission, from the end of "Hey Joe" Monterey] But even though Crosby was trying to be the Byrds' leader on stage, he was also starting to think that they maybe didn't deserve to have him as their leader. He'd recently been spending a lot of time hanging out with Stephen Stills of the Buffalo Springfield, and McGuinn talks about one occasion where Crosby and Stills were jamming together, Stills played a blues lick and said to McGuinn "Can you play that?" and when McGuinn, who was not a blues musician, said he couldn't, Stills looked at him with contempt. McGuinn was sure that Stills was trying to poach Crosby, and Crosby apparently wanted to be poached. The group had rehearsed intensely for Monterey, aware that they'd been performing poorly and not wanting to show themselves up in front of the new San Francisco bands, but Crosby had told them during rehearsals that they weren't good enough to play with him. McGuinn's suspicions about Stills wanting to poach Crosby seemed to be confirmed during Monterey when Crosby joined Buffalo Springfield on stage, filling in for Neil Young during the period when Young had temporarily quit the group, and performing a song he'd helped Stills write about Grace Slick: [Excerpt: Buffalo Springfield, "Rock 'n' Roll Woman (live at Monterey)"] Crosby was getting tired not only of the Byrds but of the LA scene in general. He saw the new San Francisco bands as being infinitely cooler than the Hollywood plastic scene that was LA -- even though Crosby was possibly the single most Hollywood person on that scene, being the son of an Oscar-winning cinematographer and someone who hung out with film stars. At Monterey, the group had debuted their next single, the first one with an A-side written by Crosby, "Lady Friend": [Excerpt: The Byrds, "Lady Friend"] Crosby had thought of that as a masterpiece, but when it was released as a single, it flopped badly, and the rest of the group weren't even keen on the track being included on the next album. To add insult to injury as far as Crosby was concerned, at the same time as the single was released, a new album came out -- the Byrds' Greatest Hits, full of all those singles he was refusing to play live, and it made the top ten, becoming far and away the group's most successful album. But despite all this, the biggest conflict between band members when they came to start sessions for their next album wasn't over Crosby, but over Michael Clarke. Clarke had never been a particularly good drummer, and while that had been OK at the start of the Byrds' career, when none of them had been very proficient on their instruments, he was barely any better at a time when both McGuinn and Hillman were being regarded as unique stylists, while Crosby was writing metrically and harmonically interesting material. Many Byrds fans appreciate Clarke's drumming nonetheless, saying he was an inventive and distinctive player in much the same way as the similarly unskilled Micky Dolenz, but on any measure of technical ability he was far behind his bandmates. Clarke didn't like the new material and wasn't capable of playing it the way his bandmates wanted. He was popular with the rest of the band as a person, but simply wasn't playing well, and it led to a massive row in the first session: [Excerpt: The Byrds, "Universal Mind Decoder (alternate backing track)"] At one point they joke that they'll bring in Hal Blaine instead -- a reference to the recording of "Mr. Tambourine Man", when Clarke and Hillman had been replaced by Blaine and Larry Knechtel -- and Clarke says "Do it. I don't mind, I really don't." And so that ended up happening. Clarke was still a member of the band -- and he would end up playing on half the album's tracks -- but for the next few sessions the group brought in session drummers Hal Blaine and Jim Gordon to play the parts they actually wanted. But that wasn't going to stop the bigger problem in the group, and that problem was David Crosby's relationship with the rest of the band. Crosby was still at this point thinking of himself as having a future in the group, even as he was increasingly convinced that the group themselves were bad, and embarrassed by their live sound. He even, in a show of unity, decided to ask McGuinn and Hillman to collaborate on a couple of songs with him so they would share the royalties equally. But there were two flash-points in the studio. The first was Crosby's song "Triad", a song about what we would now call polyamory, partly inspired by Robert Heinlein's counterculture science fiction novel Stranger in a Strange Land. The song was meant to portray a progressive, utopian, view of free love, but has dated very badly -- the idea that the *only* reason a woman might be unhappy with her partner sleeping with another woman is because of her mother's disapproval possibly reveals more about the mindset of hippie idealists than was intended. The group recorded Crosby's song, but refused to allow it to be released, and Crosby instead gave it to his friends Jefferson Airplane, whose version, by having Grace Slick sing it, at least reverses the dynamics of the relationship: [Excerpt: Jefferson Airplane, "Triad"] The other was a song that Gary Usher had brought to the group and suggested they record, a Goffin and King song released the previous year by Dusty Springfield: [Excerpt: Dusty Springfield, "Goin' Back"] Crosby was incandescent. The group wanted to do this Brill Building pap?! Hell, Gary Usher had originally thought that *Chad and Jeremy* should do it, before deciding to get the Byrds to do it instead. Did they really want to be doing Chad and Jeremy cast-offs when they could be doing his brilliant science-fiction inspired songs about alternative relationship structures? *Really*? They did, and after a first session, where Crosby reluctantly joined in, when they came to recut the track Crosby flat-out refused to take part, leading to a furious row with McGuinn. Since they were already replacing Michael Clarke with session drummers, that meant the only Byrds on "Goin' Back", the group's next single, were McGuinn and Hillman: [Excerpt: The Byrds, "Goin' Back"] That came out in late October 1967, and shortly before it came out, McGuinn and Hillman had driven to Crosby's home. They told him they'd had enough. He was out of the band. They were buying him out of his contract. Despite everything, Crosby was astonished. They were a *group*. They fought, but only the way brothers fight. But McGuinn and Hillman were adamant. Crosby ended up begging them, saying "We could make great music together." Their response was just "And we can make great music without you." We'll find out whether they could or not in two weeks' time.
Bruce Springsteen, Roy Bittan, Jon Landau, Chuck Plotkin, and me.
This episode of Books for Men features Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen. An all-encompassing autobiography about a rock and roll legend that tackles everything from his struggles to successes—both personally and professionally. So good. Listen for more!If you enjoyed this episode, please consider supporting the podcast. Any of the three things below will help provide awareness for the initiative—inspiring (more) men to read and bringing together men who do. (Ladies, of course, you're always welcome!)Share with a friend or on social mediaSubscribe or follow on your favorite podcast platformLeave a rating or reviewVisit BooksforMen.org to sign up for the Books for Men newsletter, a monthly round-up of every episode with full book and author info, all the best quotes, and newsletter-only book recommendations!
The way of water connects all things; and it seems to have reconnected us to James Cameron's alien moon, Pandora! Join us as we explore new horizons and dive to new depths with the Sully family in Avatar: The Way of Water. Listen on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Wt9tAo3OaTQ --- TIME CODES: 00:00:00 - INTRO + ALIEN: COVENANT GIVEAWAY WINNER 00:06:57 - BASIC FACTS 00:12:33 - PAYA(CO)N-TENT 01:20:45 - WHAT WE WATCHED --- FILM INFORMATION: Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) “Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, "Avatar: The Way of Water" launches the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure.” DIRECTED BY: James Cameron. PRODUCED BY: James Cameron, Jon Landau. CAST: Zoe Saldaña, Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Cliff Curtis, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Edie Falco, Jemaine Clement, Kate Winslet. Read more on Avatar: The Way of Water's official webpage: https://www.avatar.com/movies/avatar-the-way-of-water Find where to stream this week's film on JustWatch: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/avatar-2 --- OUR LINKS: Host Webpage: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/recentlylogged Letterboxd HQ: https://boxd.it/30uy1 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@recentlylogged Micah's Stuff YouTube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCqan1ouaFGl1XMt_6VrIzFg Letterboxd: https://boxd.it/AkCn Twitter: https://twitter.com/micah_grawey Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/m_grawey_films/ Robbie's Stuff Website: https://robbiegrawey.com --- EPISODE CREDITS: Recently Logged Podcast creators - Micah and Robert “Robbie” Grawey Hosts - Micah and Robert “Robbie” Grawey Songs used in this episode - Dawn of Man, Desert Planet, and Poison Apple by Quincas Moreira, Trickle of Water and On Foot by Underbelly & Ty Mayer Editor - Robert “Robbie” Grawey Episode art designer - Robert “Robbie” Grawey Episode Description - Robert “Robbie” Grawey --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/recentlylogged/support
Delve into the heart of 'Avatar: The Way of Water's creation with insights directly from the film's production team, including producer Jon Landau, editor Stephen Rivkin, cinematographer Russell Carpenter, production designers Dylan Cole and Ben Procter, costume designer Deborah L. Scott, composer Simon Franglen, concept artist Zachary Berger, and VFX supervisor Joe Letteri. Go behind the scenes with true creative maestros, revealing unheard stories and fascinating intricacies of the movie-making process. This special compilation, rich with first-hand accounts and professional perspectives, is a treasure trove for Avatar fans and cinema enthusiasts alike. • Avatar is a multimedia universe centred on the indigenous peoples of Pandora, with strong messages of artivism intended to galvanise real-world shifts in consciousness and the way we treat ourselves, each other and the planet, and a focus on pushing all creative artforms to the next level. It is the most successful media property of all time, comprising film, interactive, books, graphic novels, music, themed attractions, series and more. • We have a special request for our listeners. The Topic Archives, a media library created and maintained solely by Australian producer Albert Chessa, needs your support. If you enjoy this podcast, consider donating at patreon.com/TopicArchives, or tipping at ko-fi.com/TopicArchives. Leaving a like, sharing, subscribing, and/or reviewing the show also helps us reach more listeners. Thank you for your generosity and continued support. ✨
Episode 166 of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “Crossroads", Cream, the myth of Robert Johnson, and whether white men can sing the blues. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. Patreon backers also have a forty-eight-minute bonus episode available, on “Tip-Toe Thru' the Tulips" by Tiny Tim. Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt's irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/ Errata I talk about an interview with Clapton from 1967, I meant 1968. I mention a Graham Bond live recording from 1953, and of course meant 1963. I say Paul Jones was on vocals in the Powerhouse sessions. Steve Winwood was on vocals, and Jones was on harmonica. Resources As I say at the end, the main resource you need to get if you enjoyed this episode is Brother Robert by Annye Anderson, Robert Johnson's stepsister. There are three Mixcloud mixes this time. As there are so many songs by Cream, Robert Johnson, John Mayall, and Graham Bond excerpted, and Mixcloud won't allow more than four songs by the same artist in any mix, I've had to post the songs not in quite the same order in which they appear in the podcast. But the mixes are here -- one, two, three. This article on Mack McCormick gives a fuller explanation of the problems with his research and behaviour. The other books I used for the Robert Johnson sections were McCormick's Biography of a Phantom; Up Jumped the Devil: The Real Life of Robert Johnson, by Bruce Conforth and Gayle Dean Wardlow; Searching for Robert Johnson by Peter Guralnick; and Escaping the Delta by Elijah Wald. I can recommend all of these subject to the caveats at the end of the episode. The information on the history and prehistory of the Delta blues mostly comes from Before Elvis by Larry Birnbaum, with some coming from Charley Patton by John Fahey. The information on Cream comes mostly from Cream: How Eric Clapton Took the World by Storm by Dave Thompson. I also used Ginger Baker: Hellraiser by Ginger Baker and Ginette Baker, Mr Showbiz by Stephen Dando-Collins, Motherless Child by Paul Scott, and Alexis Korner: The Biography by Harry Shapiro. The best collection of Cream's work is the four-CD set Those Were the Days, which contains every track the group ever released while they were together (though only the stereo mixes of the albums, and a couple of tracks are in slightly different edits from the originals). You can get Johnson's music on many budget compilation records, as it's in the public domain in the EU, but the double CD collection produced by Steve LaVere for Sony in 2011 is, despite the problems that come from it being associated with LaVere, far and away the best option -- the remasters have a clarity that's worlds ahead of even the 1990s CD version it replaced. And for a good single-CD introduction to the Delta blues musicians and songsters who were Johnson's peers and inspirations, Back to the Crossroads: The Roots of Robert Johnson, compiled by Elijah Wald as a companion to his book on Johnson, can't be beaten, and contains many of the tracks excerpted in this episode. Patreon This podcast is brought to you by the generosity of my backers on Patreon. Why not join them? Transcript Before we start, a quick note that this episode contains discussion of racism, drug addiction, and early death. There's also a brief mention of death in childbirth and infant mortality. It's been a while since we looked at the British blues movement, and at the blues in general, so some of you may find some of what follows familiar, as we're going to look at some things we've talked about previously, but from a different angle. In 1968, the Bonzo Dog Band, a comedy musical band that have been described as the missing link between the Beatles and the Monty Python team, released a track called "Can Blue Men Sing the Whites?": [Excerpt: The Bonzo Dog Band, "Can Blue Men Sing the Whites?"] That track was mocking a discussion that was very prominent in Britain's music magazines around that time. 1968 saw the rise of a *lot* of British bands who started out as blues bands, though many of them went on to different styles of music -- Fleetwood Mac, Ten Years After, Jethro Tull, Chicken Shack and others were all becoming popular among the kind of people who read the music magazines, and so the question was being asked -- can white men sing the blues? Of course, the answer to that question was obvious. After all, white men *invented* the blues. Before we get any further at all, I have to make clear that I do *not* mean that white people created blues music. But "the blues" as a category, and particularly the idea of it as a music made largely by solo male performers playing guitar... that was created and shaped by the actions of white male record executives. There is no consensus as to when or how the blues as a genre started -- as we often say in this podcast "there is no first anything", but like every genre it seems to have come from multiple sources. In the case of the blues, there's probably some influence from African music by way of field chants sung by enslaved people, possibly some influence from Arabic music as well, definitely some influence from the Irish and British folk songs that by the late nineteenth century were developing into what we now call country music, a lot from ragtime, and a lot of influence from vaudeville and minstrel songs -- which in turn themselves were all very influenced by all those other things. Probably the first published composition to show any real influence of the blues is from 1904, a ragtime piano piece by James Chapman and Leroy Smith, "One O' Them Things": [Excerpt: "One O' Them Things"] That's not very recognisable as a blues piece yet, but it is more-or-less a twelve-bar blues. But the blues developed, and it developed as a result of a series of commercial waves. The first of these came in 1914, with the success of W.C. Handy's "Memphis Blues", which when it was recorded by the Victor Military Band for a phonograph cylinder became what is generally considered the first blues record proper: [Excerpt: The Victor Military Band, "Memphis Blues"] The famous dancers Vernon and Irene Castle came up with a dance, the foxtrot -- which Vernon Castle later admitted was largely inspired by Black dancers -- to be danced to the "Memphis Blues", and the foxtrot soon overtook the tango, which the Castles had introduced to the US the previous year, to become the most popular dance in America for the best part of three decades. And with that came an explosion in blues in the Handy style, cranked out by every music publisher. While the blues was a style largely created by Black performers and writers, the segregated nature of the American music industry at the time meant that most vocal performances of these early blues that were captured on record were by white performers, Black vocalists at this time only rarely getting the chance to record. The first blues record with a Black vocalist is also technically the first British blues record. A group of Black musicians, apparently mostly American but led by a Jamaican pianist, played at Ciro's Club in London, and recorded many tracks in Britain, under a name which I'm not going to say in full -- it started with Ciro's Club, and continued alliteratively with another word starting with C, a slur for Black people. In 1917 they recorded a vocal version of "St. Louis Blues", another W.C. Handy composition: [Excerpt: Ciro's Club C**n Orchestra, "St. Louis Blues"] The first American Black blues vocal didn't come until two years later, when Bert Williams, a Black minstrel-show performer who like many Black performers of his era performed in blackface even though he was Black, recorded “I'm Sorry I Ain't Got It You Could Have It If I Had It Blues,” [Excerpt: Bert Williams, "I'm Sorry I Ain't Got It You Could Have It If I Had It Blues,”] But it wasn't until 1920 that the second, bigger, wave of popularity started for the blues, and this time it started with the first record of a Black *woman* singing the blues -- Mamie Smith's "Crazy Blues": [Excerpt: Mamie Smith, "Crazy Blues"] You can hear the difference between that and anything we've heard up to that point -- that's the first record that anyone from our perspective, a hundred and three years later, would listen to and say that it bore any resemblance to what we think of as the blues -- so much so that many places still credit it as the first ever blues record. And there's a reason for that. "Crazy Blues" was one of those records that separates the music industry into before and after, like "Rock Around the Clock", "I Want to Hold Your Hand", Sgt Pepper, or "Rapper's Delight". It sold seventy-five thousand copies in its first month -- a massive number by the standards of 1920 -- and purportedly went on to sell over a million copies. Sales figures and market analysis weren't really a thing in the same way in 1920, but even so it became very obvious that "Crazy Blues" was a big hit, and that unlike pretty much any other previous records, it was a big hit among Black listeners, which meant that there was a market for music aimed at Black people that was going untapped. Soon all the major record labels were setting up subsidiaries devoted to what they called "race music", music made by and for Black people. And this sees the birth of what is now known as "classic blues", but at the time (and for decades after) was just what people thought of when they thought of "the blues" as a genre. This was music primarily sung by female vaudeville artists backed by jazz bands, people like Ma Rainey (whose earliest recordings featured Louis Armstrong in her backing band): [Excerpt: Ma Rainey, "See See Rider Blues"] And Bessie Smith, the "Empress of the Blues", who had a massive career in the 1920s before the Great Depression caused many of these "race record" labels to fold, but who carried on performing well into the 1930s -- her last recording was in 1933, produced by John Hammond, with a backing band including Benny Goodman and Jack Teagarden: [Excerpt: Bessie Smith, "Give Me a Pigfoot and a Bottle of Beer"] It wouldn't be until several years after the boom started by Mamie Smith that any record companies turned to recording Black men singing the blues accompanied by guitar or banjo. The first record of this type is probably "Norfolk Blues" by Reese DuPree from 1924: [Excerpt: Reese DuPree, "Norfolk Blues"] And there were occasional other records of this type, like "Airy Man Blues" by Papa Charlie Jackson, who was advertised as the “only man living who sings, self-accompanied, for Blues records.” [Excerpt: Papa Charlie Jackson, "Airy Man Blues"] But contrary to the way these are seen today, at the time they weren't seen as being in some way "authentic", or "folk music". Indeed, there are many quotes from folk-music collectors of the time (sadly all of them using so many slurs that it's impossible for me to accurately quote them) saying that when people sang the blues, that wasn't authentic Black folk music at all but an adulteration from commercial music -- they'd clearly, according to these folk-music scholars, learned the blues style from records and sheet music rather than as part of an oral tradition. Most of these performers were people who recorded blues as part of a wider range of material, like Blind Blake, who recorded some blues music but whose best work was his ragtime guitar instrumentals: [Excerpt: Blind Blake, "Southern Rag"] But it was when Blind Lemon Jefferson started recording for Paramount records in 1926 that the image of the blues as we now think of it took shape. His first record, "Got the Blues", was a massive success: [Excerpt: Blind Lemon Jefferson, "Got the Blues"] And this resulted in many labels, especially Paramount, signing up pretty much every Black man with a guitar they could find in the hopes of finding another Blind Lemon Jefferson. But the thing is, this generation of people making blues records, and the generation that followed them, didn't think of themselves as "blues singers" or "bluesmen". They were songsters. Songsters were entertainers, and their job was to sing and play whatever the audiences would want to hear. That included the blues, of course, but it also included... well, every song anyone would want to hear. They'd perform old folk songs, vaudeville songs, songs that they'd heard on the radio or the jukebox -- whatever the audience wanted. Robert Johnson, for example, was known to particularly love playing polka music, and also adored the records of Jimmie Rodgers, the first country music superstar. In 1941, when Alan Lomax first recorded Muddy Waters, he asked Waters what kind of songs he normally played in performances, and he was given a list that included "Home on the Range", Gene Autry's "I've Got Spurs That Jingle Jangle Jingle", and Glenn Miller's "Chattanooga Choo-Choo". We have few recordings of these people performing this kind of song though. One of the few we have is Big Bill Broonzy, who was just about the only artist of this type not to get pigeonholed as just a blues singer, even though blues is what made him famous, and who later in his career managed to record songs like the Tin Pan Alley standard "The Glory of Love": [Excerpt: Big Bill Broonzy, "The Glory of Love"] But for the most part, the image we have of the blues comes down to one man, Arthur Laibley, a sales manager for the Wisconsin Chair Company. The Wisconsin Chair Company was, as the name would suggest, a company that started out making wooden chairs, but it had branched out into other forms of wooden furniture -- including, for a brief time, large wooden phonographs. And, like several other manufacturers, like the Radio Corporation of America -- RCA -- and the Gramophone Company, which became EMI, they realised that if they were going to sell the hardware it made sense to sell the software as well, and had started up Paramount Records, which bought up a small label, Black Swan, and soon became the biggest manufacturer of records for the Black market, putting out roughly a quarter of all "race records" released between 1922 and 1932. At first, most of these were produced by a Black talent scout, J. Mayo Williams, who had been the first person to record Ma Rainey, Papa Charlie Jackson, and Blind Lemon Jefferson, but in 1927 Williams left Paramount, and the job of supervising sessions went to Arthur Laibley, though according to some sources a lot of the actual production work was done by Aletha Dickerson, Williams' former assistant, who was almost certainly the first Black woman to be what we would now think of as a record producer. Williams had been interested in recording all kinds of music by Black performers, but when Laibley got a solo Black man into the studio, what he wanted more than anything was for him to record the blues, ideally in a style as close as possible to that of Blind Lemon Jefferson. Laibley didn't have a very hands-on approach to recording -- indeed Paramount had very little concern about the quality of their product anyway, and Paramount's records are notorious for having been put out on poor-quality shellac and recorded badly -- and he only occasionally made actual suggestions as to what kind of songs his performers should write -- for example he asked Son House to write something that sounded like Blind Lemon Jefferson, which led to House writing and recording "Mississippi County Farm Blues", which steals the tune of Jefferson's "See That My Grave is Kept Clean": [Excerpt: Son House, "Mississippi County Farm Blues"] When Skip James wanted to record a cover of James Wiggins' "Forty-Four Blues", Laibley suggested that instead he should do a song about a different gun, and so James recorded "Twenty-Two Twenty Blues": [Excerpt: Skip James, "Twenty-Two Twenty Blues"] And Laibley also suggested that James write a song about the Depression, which led to one of the greatest blues records ever, "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues": [Excerpt: Skip James, "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues"] These musicians knew that they were getting paid only for issued sides, and that Laibley wanted only blues from them, and so that's what they gave him. Even when it was a performer like Charlie Patton. (Incidentally, for those reading this as a transcript rather than listening to it, Patton's name is more usually spelled ending in ey, but as far as I can tell ie was his preferred spelling and that's what I'm using). Charlie Patton was best known as an entertainer, first and foremost -- someone who would do song-and-dance routines, joke around, play guitar behind his head. He was a clown on stage, so much so that when Son House finally heard some of Patton's records, in the mid-sixties, decades after the fact, he was astonished that Patton could actually play well. Even though House had been in the room when some of the records were made, his memory of Patton was of someone who acted the fool on stage. That's definitely not the impression you get from the Charlie Patton on record: [Excerpt: Charlie Patton, "Poor Me"] Patton is, as far as can be discerned, the person who was most influential in creating the music that became called the "Delta blues". Not a lot is known about Patton's life, but he was almost certainly the half-brother of the Chatmon brothers, who made hundreds of records, most notably as members of the Mississippi Sheiks: [Excerpt: The Mississippi Sheiks, "Sitting on Top of the World"] In the 1890s, Patton's family moved to Sunflower County, Mississippi, and he lived in and around that county until his death in 1934. Patton learned to play guitar from a musician called Henry Sloan, and then Patton became a mentor figure to a *lot* of other musicians in and around the plantation on which his family lived. Some of the musicians who grew up in the immediate area around Patton included Tommy Johnson: [Excerpt: Tommy Johnson, "Big Road Blues"] Pops Staples: [Excerpt: The Staple Singers, "Will The Circle Be Unbroken"] Robert Johnson: [Excerpt: Robert Johnson, "Crossroads"] Willie Brown, a musician who didn't record much, but who played a lot with Patton, Son House, and Robert Johnson and who we just heard Johnson sing about: [Excerpt: Willie Brown, "M&O Blues"] And Chester Burnett, who went on to become known as Howlin' Wolf, and whose vocal style was equally inspired by Patton and by the country star Jimmie Rodgers: [Excerpt: Howlin' Wolf, "Smokestack Lightnin'"] Once Patton started his own recording career for Paramount, he also started working as a talent scout for them, and it was him who brought Son House to Paramount. Soon after the Depression hit, Paramount stopped recording, and so from 1930 through 1934 Patton didn't make any records. He was tracked down by an A&R man in January 1934 and recorded one final session: [Excerpt, Charlie Patton, "34 Blues"] But he died of heart failure two months later. But his influence spread through his proteges, and they themselves influenced other musicians from the area who came along a little after, like Robert Lockwood and Muddy Waters. This music -- or that portion of it that was considered worth recording by white record producers, only a tiny, unrepresentative, portion of their vast performing repertoires -- became known as the Delta Blues, and when some of these musicians moved to Chicago and started performing with electric instruments, it became Chicago Blues. And as far as people like John Mayall in Britain were concerned, Delta and Chicago Blues *were* the blues: [Excerpt: John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, "It Ain't Right"] John Mayall was one of the first of the British blues obsessives, and for a long time thought of himself as the only one. While we've looked before at the growth of the London blues scene, Mayall wasn't from London -- he was born in Macclesfield and grew up in Cheadle Hulme, both relatively well-off suburbs of Manchester, and after being conscripted and doing two years in the Army, he had become an art student at Manchester College of Art, what is now Manchester Metropolitan University. Mayall had been a blues fan from the late 1940s, writing off to the US to order records that hadn't been released in the UK, and by most accounts by the late fifties he'd put together the biggest blues collection in Britain by quite some way. Not only that, but he had one of the earliest home tape recorders, and every night he would record radio stations from Continental Europe which were broadcasting for American service personnel, so he'd amassed mountains of recordings, often unlabelled, of obscure blues records that nobody else in the UK knew about. He was also an accomplished pianist and guitar player, and in 1956 he and his drummer friend Peter Ward had put together a band called the Powerhouse Four (the other two members rotated on a regular basis) mostly to play lunchtime jazz sessions at the art college. Mayall also started putting on jam sessions at a youth club in Wythenshawe, where he met another drummer named Hughie Flint. Over the late fifties and into the early sixties, Mayall more or less by himself built up a small blues scene in Manchester. The Manchester blues scene was so enthusiastic, in fact, that when the American Folk Blues Festival, an annual European tour which initially featured Willie Dixon, Memhis Slim, T-Bone Walker, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, and John Lee Hooker, first toured Europe, the only UK date it played was at the Manchester Free Trade Hall, and people like Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones and Jimmy Page had to travel up from London to see it. But still, the number of blues fans in Manchester, while proportionally large, was objectively small enough that Mayall was captivated by an article in Melody Maker which talked about Alexis Korner and Cyril Davies' new band Blues Incorporated and how it was playing electric blues, the same music he was making in Manchester. He later talked about how the article had made him think that maybe now people would know what he was talking about. He started travelling down to London to play gigs for the London blues scene, and inviting Korner up to Manchester to play shows there. Soon Mayall had moved down to London. Korner introduced Mayall to Davey Graham, the great folk guitarist, with whom Korner had recently recorded as a duo: [Excerpt: Alexis Korner and Davey Graham, "3/4 AD"] Mayall and Graham performed together as a duo for a while, but Graham was a natural solo artist if ever there was one. Slowly Mayall put a band together in London. On drums was his old friend Peter Ward, who'd moved down from Manchester with him. On bass was John McVie, who at the time knew nothing about blues -- he'd been playing in a Shadows-style instrumental group -- but Mayall gave him a stack of blues records to listen to to get the feeling. And on guitar was Bernie Watson, who had previously played with Screaming Lord Sutch and the Savages. In late 1963, Mike Vernon, a blues fan who had previously published a Yardbirds fanzine, got a job working for Decca records, and immediately started signing his favourite acts from the London blues circuit. The first act he signed was John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, and they recorded a single, "Crawling up a Hill": [Excerpt: John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, "Crawling up a Hill (45 version)"] Mayall later called that a "clumsy, half-witted attempt at autobiographical comment", and it sold only five hundred copies. It would be the only record the Bluesbreakers would make with Watson, who soon left the band to be replaced by Roger Dean (not the same Roger Dean who later went on to design prog rock album covers). The second group to be signed by Mike Vernon to Decca was the Graham Bond Organisation. We've talked about the Graham Bond Organisation in passing several times, but not for a while and not in any great detail, so it's worth pulling everything we've said about them so far together and going through it in a little more detail. The Graham Bond Organisation, like the Rolling Stones, grew out of Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated. As we heard in the episode on "I Wanna Be Your Man" a couple of years ago, Blues Incorporated had been started by Alexis Korner and Cyril Davies, and at the time we're joining them in 1962 featured a drummer called Charlie Watts, a pianist called Dave Stevens, and saxophone player Dick Heckstall-Smith, as well as frequent guest performers like a singer who called himself Mike Jagger, and another one, Roderick Stewart. That group finally found themselves the perfect bass player when Dick Heckstall-Smith put together a one-off group of jazz players to play an event at Cambridge University. At the gig, a little Scottish man came up to the group and told them he played bass and asked if he could sit in. They told him to bring along his instrument to their second set, that night, and he did actually bring along a double bass. Their bluff having been called, they decided to play the most complicated, difficult, piece they knew in order to throw the kid off -- the drummer, a trad jazz player named Ginger Baker, didn't like performing with random sit-in guests -- but astonishingly he turned out to be really good. Heckstall-Smith took down the bass player's name and phone number and invited him to a jam session with Blues Incorporated. After that jam session, Jack Bruce quickly became the group's full-time bass player. Bruce had started out as a classical cellist, but had switched to the double bass inspired by Bach, who he referred to as "the guv'nor of all bass players". His playing up to this point had mostly been in trad jazz bands, and he knew nothing of the blues, but he quickly got the hang of the genre. Bruce's first show with Blues Incorporated was a BBC recording: [Excerpt: Blues Incorporated, "Hoochie Coochie Man (BBC session)"] According to at least one source it was not being asked to take part in that session that made young Mike Jagger decide there was no future for him with Blues Incorporated and to spend more time with his other group, the Rollin' Stones. Soon after, Charlie Watts would join him, for almost the opposite reason -- Watts didn't want to be in a band that was getting as big as Blues Incorporated were. They were starting to do more BBC sessions and get more gigs, and having to join the Musicians' Union. That seemed like a lot of work. Far better to join a band like the Rollin' Stones that wasn't going anywhere. Because of Watts' decision to give up on potential stardom to become a Rollin' Stone, they needed a new drummer, and luckily the best drummer on the scene was available. But then the best drummer on the scene was *always* available. Ginger Baker had first played with Dick Heckstall-Smith several years earlier, in a trad group called the Storyville Jazzmen. There Baker had become obsessed with the New Orleans jazz drummer Baby Dodds, who had played with Louis Armstrong in the 1920s. Sadly because of 1920s recording technology, he hadn't been able to play a full kit on the recordings with Armstrong, being limited to percussion on just a woodblock, but you can hear his drumming style much better in this version of "At the Jazz Band Ball" from 1947, with Mugsy Spanier, Jack Teagarden, Cyrus St. Clair and Hank Duncan: [Excerpt: "At the Jazz Band Ball"] Baker had taken Dobbs' style and run with it, and had quickly become known as the single best player, bar none, on the London jazz scene -- he'd become an accomplished player in multiple styles, and was also fluent in reading music and arranging. He'd also, though, become known as the single person on the entire scene who was most difficult to get along with. He resigned from his first band onstage, shouting "You can stick your band up your arse", after the band's leader had had enough of him incorporating bebop influences into their trad style. Another time, when touring with Diz Disley's band, he was dumped in Germany with no money and no way to get home, because the band were so sick of him. Sometimes this was because of his temper and his unwillingness to suffer fools -- and he saw everyone else he ever met as a fool -- and sometimes it was because of his own rigorous musical ideas. He wanted to play music *his* way, and wouldn't listen to anyone who told him different. Both of these things got worse after he fell under the influence of a man named Phil Seaman, one of the only drummers that Baker respected at all. Seaman introduced Baker to African drumming, and Baker started incorporating complex polyrhythms into his playing as a result. Seaman also though introduced Baker to heroin, and while being a heroin addict in the UK in the 1960s was not as difficult as it later became -- both heroin and cocaine were available on prescription to registered addicts, and Baker got both, which meant that many of the problems that come from criminalisation of these drugs didn't affect addicts in the same way -- but it still did not, by all accounts, make him an easier person to get along with. But he *was* a fantastic drummer. As Dick Heckstall-Smith said "With the advent of Ginger, the classic Blues Incorporated line-up, one which I think could not be bettered, was set" But Alexis Korner decided that the group could be bettered, and he had some backers within the band. One of the other bands on the scene was the Don Rendell Quintet, a group that played soul jazz -- that style of jazz that bridged modern jazz and R&B, the kind of music that Ray Charles and Herbie Hancock played: [Excerpt: The Don Rendell Quintet, "Manumission"] The Don Rendell Quintet included a fantastic multi-instrumentalist, Graham Bond, who doubled on keyboards and saxophone, and Bond had been playing occasional experimental gigs with the Johnny Burch Octet -- a group led by another member of the Rendell Quartet featuring Heckstall-Smith, Bruce, Baker, and a few other musicians, doing wholly-improvised music. Heckstall-Smith, Bruce, and Baker all enjoyed playing with Bond, and when Korner decided to bring him into the band, they were all very keen. But Cyril Davies, the co-leader of the band with Korner, was furious at the idea. Davies wanted to play strict Chicago and Delta blues, and had no truck with other forms of music like R&B and jazz. To his mind it was bad enough that they had a sax player. But the idea that they would bring in Bond, who played sax and... *Hammond* organ? Well, that was practically blasphemy. Davies quit the group at the mere suggestion. Bond was soon in the band, and he, Bruce, and Baker were playing together a *lot*. As well as performing with Blues Incorporated, they continued playing in the Johnny Burch Octet, and they also started performing as the Graham Bond Trio. Sometimes the Graham Bond Trio would be Blues Incorporated's opening act, and on more than one occasion the Graham Bond Trio, Blues Incorporated, and the Johnny Burch Octet all had gigs in different parts of London on the same night and they'd have to frantically get from one to the other. The Graham Bond Trio also had fans in Manchester, thanks to the local blues scene there and their connection with Blues Incorporated, and one night in February 1963 the trio played a gig there. They realised afterwards that by playing as a trio they'd made £70, when they were lucky to make £20 from a gig with Blues Incorporated or the Octet, because there were so many members in those bands. Bond wanted to make real money, and at the next rehearsal of Blues Incorporated he announced to Korner that he, Bruce, and Baker were quitting the band -- which was news to Bruce and Baker, who he hadn't bothered consulting. Baker, indeed, was in the toilet when the announcement was made and came out to find it a done deal. He was going to kick up a fuss and say he hadn't been consulted, but Korner's reaction sealed the deal. As Baker later said "‘he said “it's really good you're doing this thing with Graham, and I wish you the best of luck” and all that. And it was a bit difficult to turn round and say, “Well, I don't really want to leave the band, you know.”'" The Graham Bond Trio struggled at first to get the gigs they were expecting, but that started to change when in April 1963 they became the Graham Bond Quartet, with the addition of virtuoso guitarist John McLaughlin. The Quartet soon became one of the hottest bands on the London R&B scene, and when Duffy Power, a Larry Parnes teen idol who wanted to move into R&B, asked his record label to get him a good R&B band to back him on a Beatles cover, it was the Graham Bond Quartet who obliged: [Excerpt: Duffy Power, "I Saw Her Standing There"] The Quartet also backed Power on a package tour with other Parnes acts, but they were also still performing their own blend of hard jazz and blues, as can be heard in this recording of the group live in June 1953: [Excerpt: The Graham Bond Quartet, "Ho Ho Country Kicking Blues (Live at Klooks Kleek)"] But that lineup of the group didn't last very long. According to the way Baker told the story, he fired McLaughlin from the group, after being irritated by McLaughlin complaining about something on a day when Baker was out of cocaine and in no mood to hear anyone else's complaints. As Baker said "We lost a great guitar player and I lost a good friend." But the Trio soon became a Quartet again, as Dick Heckstall-Smith, who Baker had wanted in the band from the start, joined on saxophone to replace McLaughlin's guitar. But they were no longer called the Graham Bond Quartet. Partly because Heckstall-Smith joining allowed Bond to concentrate just on his keyboard playing, but one suspects partly to protect against any future lineup changes, the group were now The Graham Bond ORGANisation -- emphasis on the organ. The new lineup of the group got signed to Decca by Vernon, and were soon recording their first single, "Long Tall Shorty": [Excerpt: The Graham Bond Organisation, "Long Tall Shorty"] They recorded a few other songs which made their way onto an EP and an R&B compilation, and toured intensively in early 1964, as well as backing up Power on his follow-up to "I Saw Her Standing There", his version of "Parchman Farm": [Excerpt: Duffy Power, "Parchman Farm"] They also appeared in a film, just like the Beatles, though it was possibly not quite as artistically successful as "A Hard Day's Night": [Excerpt: Gonks Go Beat trailer] Gonks Go Beat is one of the most bizarre films of the sixties. It's a far-future remake of Romeo and Juliet. where the two star-crossed lovers are from opposing countries -- Beatland and Ballad Isle -- who only communicate once a year in an annual song contest which acts as their version of a war, and is overseen by "Mr. A&R", played by Frank Thornton, who would later star in Are You Being Served? Carry On star Kenneth Connor is sent by aliens to try to bring peace to the two warring countries, on pain of exile to Planet Gonk, a planet inhabited solely by Gonks (a kind of novelty toy for which there was a short-lived craze then). Along the way Connor encounters such luminaries of British light entertainment as Terry Scott and Arthur Mullard, as well as musical performances by Lulu, the Nashville Teens, and of course the Graham Bond Organisation, whose performance gets them a telling-off from a teacher: [Excerpt: Gonks Go Beat!] The group as a group only performed one song in this cinematic masterpiece, but Baker also made an appearance in a "drum battle" sequence where eight drummers played together: [Excerpt: Gonks Go Beat drum battle] The other drummers in that scene included, as well as some lesser-known players, Andy White who had played on the single version of "Love Me Do", Bobby Graham, who played on hits by the Kinks and the Dave Clark Five, and Ronnie Verrell, who did the drumming for Animal in the Muppet Show. Also in summer 1964, the group performed at the Fourth National Jazz & Blues Festival in Richmond -- the festival co-founded by Chris Barber that would evolve into the Reading Festival. The Yardbirds were on the bill, and at the end of their set they invited Bond, Baker, Bruce, Georgie Fame, and Mike Vernon onto the stage with them, making that the first time that Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, and Jack Bruce were all on stage together. Soon after that, the Graham Bond Organisation got a new manager, Robert Stigwood. Things hadn't been working out for them at Decca, and Stigwood soon got the group signed to EMI, and became their producer as well. Their first single under Stigwood's management was a cover version of the theme tune to the Debbie Reynolds film "Tammy". While that film had given Tamla records its name, the song was hardly an R&B classic: [Excerpt: The Graham Bond Organisation, "Tammy"] That record didn't chart, but Stigwood put the group out on the road as part of the disastrous Chuck Berry tour we heard about in the episode on "All You Need is Love", which led to the bankruptcy of Robert Stigwood Associates. The Organisation moved over to Stigwood's new company, the Robert Stigwood Organisation, and Stigwood continued to be the credited producer of their records, though after the "Tammy" disaster they decided they were going to take charge themselves of the actual music. Their first album, The Sound of 65, was recorded in a single three-hour session, and they mostly ran through their standard set -- a mixture of the same songs everyone else on the circuit was playing, like "Hoochie Coochie Man", "Got My Mojo Working", and "Wade in the Water", and originals like Bruce's "Train Time": [Excerpt: The Graham Bond Organisation, "Train Time"] Through 1965 they kept working. They released a non-album single, "Lease on Love", which is generally considered to be the first pop record to feature a Mellotron: [Excerpt: The Graham Bond Organisation, "Lease on Love"] and Bond and Baker also backed another Stigwood act, Winston G, on his debut single: [Excerpt: Winston G, "Please Don't Say"] But the group were developing severe tensions. Bruce and Baker had started out friendly, but by this time they hated each other. Bruce said he couldn't hear his own playing over Baker's loud drumming, Baker thought that Bruce was far too fussy a player and should try to play simpler lines. They'd both try to throw each other during performances, altering arrangements on the fly and playing things that would trip the other player up. And *neither* of them were particularly keen on Bond's new love of the Mellotron, which was all over their second album, giving it a distinctly proto-prog feel at times: [Excerpt: The Graham Bond Organisation, "Baby Can it Be True?"] Eventually at a gig in Golders Green, Baker started throwing drumsticks at Bruce's head while Bruce was trying to play a bass solo. Bruce retaliated by throwing his bass at Baker, and then jumping on him and starting a fistfight which had to be broken up by the venue security. Baker fired Bruce from the band, but Bruce kept turning up to gigs anyway, arguing that Baker had no right to sack him as it was a democracy. Baker always claimed that in fact Bond had wanted to sack Bruce but hadn't wanted to get his hands dirty, and insisted that Baker do it, but neither Bond nor Heckstall-Smith objected when Bruce turned up for the next couple of gigs. So Baker took matters into his own hands, He pulled out a knife and told Bruce "If you show up at one more gig, this is going in you." Within days, Bruce was playing with John Mayall, whose Bluesbreakers had gone through some lineup changes by this point. Roger Dean had only played with the Bluesbreakers for a short time before Mayall had replaced him. Mayall had not been impressed with Eric Clapton's playing with the Yardbirds at first -- even though graffiti saying "Clapton is God" was already starting to appear around London -- but he had been *very* impressed with Clapton's playing on "Got to Hurry", the B-side to "For Your Love": [Excerpt: The Yardbirds, "Got to Hurry"] When he discovered that Clapton had quit the band, he sprang into action and quickly recruited him to replace Dean. Clapton knew he had made the right choice when a month after he'd joined, the group got the word that Bob Dylan had been so impressed with Mayall's single "Crawling up a Hill" -- the one that nobody liked, not even Mayall himself -- that he wanted to jam with Mayall and his band in the studio. Clapton of course went along: [Excerpt: Bob Dylan and the Bluesbreakers, "If You Gotta Go, Go Now"] That was, of course, the session we've talked about in the Velvet Underground episode and elsewhere of which little other than that survives, and which Nico attended. At this point, Mayall didn't have a record contract, his experience recording with Mike Vernon having been no more successful than the Bond group's had been. But soon he got a one-off deal -- as a solo artist, not with the Bluesbreakers -- with Immediate Records. Clapton was the only member of the group to play on the single, which was produced by Immediate's house producer Jimmy Page: [Excerpt: John Mayall, "I'm Your Witchdoctor"] Page was impressed enough with Clapton's playing that he invited him round to Page's house to jam together. But what Clapton didn't know was that Page was taping their jam sessions, and that he handed those tapes over to Immediate Records -- whether he was forced to by his contract with the label or whether that had been his plan all along depends on whose story you believe, but Clapton never truly forgave him. Page and Clapton's guitar-only jams had overdubs by Bill Wyman, Ian Stewart, and drummer Chris Winter, and have been endlessly repackaged on blues compilations ever since: [Excerpt: Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton, "Draggin' My Tail"] But Mayall was having problems with John McVie, who had started to drink too much, and as soon as he found out that Jack Bruce was sacked by the Graham Bond Organisation, Mayall got in touch with Bruce and got him to join the band in McVie's place. Everyone was agreed that this lineup of the band -- Mayall, Clapton, Bruce, and Hughie Flint -- was going places: [Excerpt: John Mayall's Bluesbreakers with Jack Bruce, "Hoochie Coochie Man"] Unfortunately, it wasn't going to last long. Clapton, while he thought that Bruce was the greatest bass player he'd ever worked with, had other plans. He was going to leave the country and travel the world as a peripatetic busker. He was off on his travels, never to return. Luckily, Mayall had someone even better waiting in the wings. A young man had, according to Mayall, "kept coming down to all the gigs and saying, “Hey, what are you doing with him?” – referring to whichever guitarist was onstage that night – “I'm much better than he is. Why don't you let me play guitar for you?” He got really quite nasty about it, so finally, I let him sit in. And he was brilliant." Peter Green was probably the best blues guitarist in London at that time, but this lineup of the Bluesbreakers only lasted a handful of gigs -- Clapton discovered that busking in Greece wasn't as much fun as being called God in London, and came back very soon after he'd left. Mayall had told him that he could have his old job back when he got back, and so Green was out and Clapton was back in. And soon the Bluesbreakers' revolving door revolved again. Manfred Mann had just had a big hit with "If You Gotta Go, Go Now", the same song we heard Dylan playing earlier: [Excerpt: Manfred Mann, "If You Gotta Go, Go Now"] But their guitarist, Mike Vickers, had quit. Tom McGuinness, their bass player, had taken the opportunity to switch back to guitar -- the instrument he'd played in his first band with his friend Eric Clapton -- but that left them short a bass player. Manfred Mann were essentially the same kind of band as the Graham Bond Organisation -- a Hammond-led group of virtuoso multi-instrumentalists who played everything from hardcore Delta blues to complex modern jazz -- but unlike the Bond group they also had a string of massive pop hits, and so made a lot more money. The combination was irresistible to Bruce, and he joined the band just before they recorded an EP of jazz instrumental versions of recent hits: [Excerpt: Manfred Mann, "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"] Bruce had also been encouraged by Robert Stigwood to do a solo project, and so at the same time as he joined Manfred Mann, he also put out a solo single, "Drinkin' and Gamblin'" [Excerpt: Jack Bruce, "Drinkin' and Gamblin'"] But of course, the reason Bruce had joined Manfred Mann was that they were having pop hits as well as playing jazz, and soon they did just that, with Bruce playing on their number one hit "Pretty Flamingo": [Excerpt: Manfred Mann, "Pretty Flamingo"] So John McVie was back in the Bluesbreakers, promising to keep his drinking under control. Mike Vernon still thought that Mayall had potential, but the people at Decca didn't agree, so Vernon got Mayall and Clapton -- but not the other band members -- to record a single for a small indie label he ran as a side project: [Excerpt: John Mayall and Eric Clapton, "Bernard Jenkins"] That label normally only released records in print runs of ninety-nine copies, because once you hit a hundred copies you had to pay tax on them, but there was so much demand for that single that they ended up pressing up five hundred copies, making it the label's biggest seller ever. Vernon eventually convinced the heads at Decca that the Bluesbreakers could be truly big, and so he got the OK to record the album that would generally be considered the greatest British blues album of all time -- Blues Breakers, also known as the Beano album because of Clapton reading a copy of the British kids' comic The Beano in the group photo on the front. [Excerpt: John Mayall with Eric Clapton, "Ramblin' On My Mind"] The album was a mixture of originals by Mayall and the standard repertoire of every blues or R&B band on the circuit -- songs like "Parchman Farm" and "What'd I Say" -- but what made the album unique was Clapton's guitar tone. Much to the chagrin of Vernon, and of engineer Gus Dudgeon, Clapton insisted on playing at the same volume that he would on stage. Vernon later said of Dudgeon "I can remember seeing his face the very first time Clapton plugged into the Marshall stack and turned it up and started playing at the sort of volume he was going to play. You could almost see Gus's eyes meet over the middle of his nose, and it was almost like he was just going to fall over from the sheer power of it all. But after an enormous amount of fiddling around and moving amps around, we got a sound that worked." [Excerpt: John Mayall with Eric Clapton, "Hideaway"] But by the time the album cane out. Clapton was no longer with the Bluesbreakers. The Graham Bond Organisation had struggled on for a while after Bruce's departure. They brought in a trumpet player, Mike Falana, and even had a hit record -- or at least, the B-side of a hit record. The Who had just put out a hit single, "Substitute", on Robert Stigwood's record label, Reaction: [Excerpt: The Who, "Substitute"] But, as you'll hear in episode 183, they had moved to Reaction Records after a falling out with their previous label, and with Shel Talmy their previous producer. The problem was, when "Substitute" was released, it had as its B-side a song called "Circles" (also known as "Instant Party -- it's been released under both names). They'd recorded an earlier version of the song for Talmy, and just as "Substitute" was starting to chart, Talmy got an injunction against the record and it had to be pulled. Reaction couldn't afford to lose the big hit record they'd spent money promoting, so they needed to put it out with a new B-side. But the Who hadn't got any unreleased recordings. But the Graham Bond Organisation had, and indeed they had an unreleased *instrumental*. So "Waltz For a Pig" became the B-side to a top-five single, credited to The Who Orchestra: [Excerpt: The Who Orchestra, "Waltz For a Pig"] That record provided the catalyst for the formation of Cream, because Ginger Baker had written the song, and got £1,350 for it, which he used to buy a new car. Baker had, for some time, been wanting to get out of the Graham Bond Organisation. He was trying to get off heroin -- though he would make many efforts to get clean over the decades, with little success -- while Bond was starting to use it far more heavily, and was also using acid and getting heavily into mysticism, which Baker despised. Baker may have had the idea for what he did next from an article in one of the music papers. John Entwistle of the Who would often tell a story about an article in Melody Maker -- though I've not been able to track down the article itself to get the full details -- in which musicians were asked to name which of their peers they'd put into a "super-group". He didn't remember the full details, but he did remember that the consensus choice had had Eric Clapton on lead guitar, himself on bass, and Ginger Baker on drums. As he said later "I don't remember who else was voted in, but a few months later, the Cream came along, and I did wonder if somebody was maybe believing too much of their own press". Incidentally, like The Buffalo Springfield and The Pink Floyd, Cream, the band we are about to meet, had releases both with and without the definite article, and Eric Clapton at least seems always to talk about them as "the Cream" even decades later, but they're primarily known as just Cream these days. Baker, having had enough of the Bond group, decided to drive up to Oxford to see Clapton playing with the Bluesbreakers. Clapton invited him to sit in for a couple of songs, and by all accounts the band sounded far better than they had previously. Clapton and Baker could obviously play well together, and Baker offered Clapton a lift back to London in his new car, and on the drive back asked Clapton if he wanted to form a new band. Clapton was as impressed by Baker's financial skills as he was by his musicianship. He said later "Musicians didn't have cars. You all got in a van." Clearly a musician who was *actually driving a new car he owned* was going places. He agreed to Baker's plan. But of course they needed a bass player, and Clapton thought he had the perfect solution -- "What about Jack?" Clapton knew that Bruce had been a member of the Graham Bond Organisation, but didn't know why he'd left the band -- he wasn't particularly clued in to what the wider music scene was doing, and all he knew was that Bruce had played with both him and Baker, and that he was the best bass player he'd ever played with. And Bruce *was* arguably the best bass player in London at that point, and he was starting to pick up session work as well as his work with Manfred Mann. For example it's him playing on the theme tune to "After The Fox" with Peter Sellers, the Hollies, and the song's composer Burt Bacharach: [Excerpt: The Hollies with Peter Sellers, "After the Fox"] Clapton was insistent. Baker's idea was that the band should be the best musicians around. That meant they needed the *best* musicians around, not the second best. If Jack Bruce wasn't joining, Eric Clapton wasn't joining either. Baker very reluctantly agreed, and went round to see Bruce the next day -- according to Baker it was in a spirit of generosity and giving Bruce one more chance, while according to Bruce he came round to eat humble pie and beg for forgiveness. Either way, Bruce agreed to join the band. The three met up for a rehearsal at Baker's home, and immediately Bruce and Baker started fighting, but also immediately they realised that they were great at playing together -- so great that they named themselves the Cream, as they were the cream of musicians on the scene. They knew they had something, but they didn't know what. At first they considered making their performances into Dada projects, inspired by the early-twentieth-century art movement. They liked a band that had just started to make waves, the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band -- who had originally been called the Bonzo Dog Dada Band -- and they bought some props with the vague idea of using them on stage in the same way the Bonzos did. But as they played together they realised that they needed to do something different from that. At first, they thought they needed a fourth member -- a keyboard player. Graham Bond's name was brought up, but Clapton vetoed him. Clapton wanted Steve Winwood, the keyboard player and vocalist with the Spencer Davis Group. Indeed, Winwood was present at what was originally intended to be the first recording session the trio would play. Joe Boyd had asked Eric Clapton to round up a bunch of players to record some filler tracks for an Elektra blues compilation, and Clapton had asked Bruce and Baker to join him, Paul Jones on vocals, Winwood on Hammond and Clapton's friend Ben Palmer on piano for the session. Indeed, given that none of the original trio were keen on singing, that Paul Jones was just about to leave Manfred Mann, and that we know Clapton wanted Winwood in the band, one has to wonder if Clapton at least half-intended for this to be the eventual lineup of the band. If he did, that plan was foiled by Baker's refusal to take part in the session. Instead, this one-off band, named The Powerhouse, featured Pete York, the drummer from the Spencer Davis Group, on the session, which produced the first recording of Clapton playing on the Robert Johnson song originally titled "Cross Road Blues" but now generally better known just as "Crossroads": [Excerpt: The Powerhouse, "Crossroads"] We talked about Robert Johnson a little back in episode ninety-seven, but other than Bob Dylan, who was inspired by his lyrics, we had seen very little influence from Johnson up to this point, but he's going to be a major influence on rock guitar for the next few years, so we should talk about him a little here. It's often said that nobody knew anything about Robert Johnson, that he was almost a phantom other than his records which existed outside of any context as artefacts of their own. That's... not really the case. Johnson had died a little less than thirty years earlier, at only twenty-seven years old. Most of his half-siblings and step-siblings were alive, as were his son, his stepson, and dozens of musicians he'd played with over the years, women he'd had affairs with, and other assorted friends and relatives. What people mean is that information about Johnson's life was not yet known by people they consider important -- which is to say white blues scholars and musicians. Indeed, almost everything people like that -- people like *me* -- know of the facts of Johnson's life has only become known to us in the last four years. If, as some people had expected, I'd started this series with an episode on Johnson, I'd have had to redo the whole thing because of the information that's made its way to the public since then. But here's what was known -- or thought -- by white blues scholars in 1966. Johnson was, according to them, a field hand from somewhere in Mississippi, who played the guitar in between working on the cotton fields. He had done two recording sessions, in 1936 and 1937. One song from his first session, "Terraplane Blues", had been a very minor hit by blues standards: [Excerpt: Robert Johnson, "Terraplane Blues"] That had sold well -- nobody knows how well, but maybe as many as ten thousand copies, and it was certainly a record people knew in 1937 if they liked the Delta blues, but ten thousand copies total is nowhere near the sales of really successful records, and none of the follow-ups had sold anything like that much -- many of them had sold in the hundreds rather than the thousands. As Elijah Wald, one of Johnson's biographers put it "knowing about Johnson and Muddy Waters but not about Leroy Carr or Dinah Washington was like knowing about, say, the Sir Douglas Quintet but not knowing about the Beatles" -- though *I* would add that the Sir Douglas Quintet were much bigger during the sixties than Johnson was during his lifetime. One of the few white people who had noticed Johnson's existence at all was John Hammond, and he'd written a brief review of Johnson's first two singles under a pseudonym in a Communist newspaper. I'm going to quote it here, but the word he used to talk about Black people was considered correct then but isn't now, so I'll substitute Black for that word: "Before closing we cannot help but call your attention to the greatest [Black] blues singer who has cropped up in recent years, Robert Johnson. Recording them in deepest Mississippi, Vocalion has certainly done right by us and by the tunes "Last Fair Deal Gone Down" and "Terraplane Blues", to name only two of the four sides already released, sung to his own guitar accompaniment. Johnson makes Leadbelly sound like an accomplished poseur" Hammond had tried to get Johnson to perform at the Spirituals to Swing concerts we talked about in the very first episodes of the podcast, but he'd discovered that he'd died shortly before. He got Big Bill Broonzy instead, and played a couple of Johnson's records from a record player on the stage. Hammond introduced those recordings with a speech: "It is tragic that an American audience could not have been found seven or eight years ago for a concert of this kind. Bessie Smith was still at the height of her career and Joe Smith, probably the greatest trumpet player America ever knew, would still have been around to play obbligatos for her...dozens of other artists could have been there in the flesh. But that audience as well as this one would not have been able to hear Robert Johnson sing and play the blues on his guitar, for at that time Johnson was just an unknown hand on a Robinsonville, Mississippi plantation. Robert Johnson was going to be the big surprise of the evening for this audience at Carnegie Hall. I know him only from his Vocalion blues records and from the tall, exciting tales the recording engineers and supervisors used to bring about him from the improvised studios in Dallas and San Antonio. I don't believe Johnson had ever worked as a professional musician anywhere, and it still knocks me over when I think of how lucky it is that a talent like his ever found its way onto phonograph records. We will have to be content with playing two of his records, the old "Walkin' Blues" and the new, unreleased, "Preachin' Blues", because Robert Johnson died last week at the precise moment when Vocalion scouts finally reached him and told him that he was booked to appear at Carnegie Hall on December 23. He was in his middle twenties and nobody seems to know what caused his death." And that was, for the most part, the end of Robert Johnson's impact on the culture for a generation. The Lomaxes went down to Clarksdale, Mississippi a couple of years later -- reports vary as to whether this was to see if they could find Johnson, who they were unaware was dead, or to find information out about him, and they did end up recording a young singer named Muddy Waters for the Library of Congress, including Waters' rendition of "32-20 Blues", Johnson's reworking of Skip James' "Twenty-Two Twenty Blues": [Excerpt: Muddy Waters, "32-20 Blues"] But Johnson's records remained unavailable after their initial release until 1959, when the blues scholar Samuel Charters published the book The Country Blues, which was the first book-length treatment ever of Delta blues. Sixteen years later Charters said "I shouldn't have written The Country Blues when I did; since I really didn't know enough, but I felt I couldn't afford to wait. So The Country Blues was two things. It was a romanticization of certain aspects of black life in an effort to force the white society to reconsider some of its racial attitudes, and on the other hand it was a cry for help. I wanted hundreds of people to go out and interview the surviving blues artists. I wanted people to record them and document their lives, their environment, and their music, not only so that their story would be preserved but also so they'd get a little money and a little recognition in their last years." Charters talked about Johnson in the book, as one of the performers who played "minor roles in the story of the blues", and said that almost nothing was known about his life. He talked about how he had been poisoned by his common-law wife, about how his records were recorded in a pool hall, and said "The finest of Robert Johnson's blues have a brooding sense of torment and despair. The blues has become a personified figure of despondency." Along with Charters' book came a compilation album of the same name, and that included the first ever reissue of one of Johnson's tracks, "Preaching Blues": [Excerpt: Robert Johnson, "Preaching Blues"] Two years later, John Hammond, who had remained an ardent fan of Johnson, had Columbia put out the King of the Delta Blues Singers album. At the time no white blues scholars knew what Johnson looked like and they had no photos of him, so a generic painting of a poor-looking Black man with a guitar was used for the cover. The liner note to King of the Delta Blues Singers talked about how Johnson was seventeen or eighteen when he made his recordings, how he was "dead before he reached his twenty-first birthday, poisoned by a jealous girlfriend", how he had "seldom, if ever, been away from the plantation in Robinsville, Mississippi, where he was born and raised", and how he had had such stage fright that when he was asked to play in front of other musicians, he'd turned to face a wall so he couldn't see them. And that would be all that any of the members of the Powerhouse would know about Johnson. Maybe they'd also heard the rumours that were starting to spread that Johnson had got his guitar-playing skills by selling his soul to the devil at a crossroads at midnight, but that would have been all they knew when they recorded their filler track for Elektra: [Excerpt: The Powerhouse, "Crossroads"] Either way, the Powerhouse lineup only lasted for that one session -- the group eventually decided that a simple trio would be best for the music they wanted to play. Clapton had seen Buddy Guy touring with just a bass player and drummer a year earlier, and had liked the idea of the freedom that gave him as a guitarist. The group soon took on Robert Stigwood as a manager, which caused more arguments between Bruce and Baker. Bruce was convinced that if they were doing an all-for-one one-for-all thing they should also manage themselves, but Baker pointed out that that was a daft idea when they could get one of the biggest managers in the country to look after them. A bigger argument, which almost killed the group before it started, happened when Baker told journalist Chris Welch of the Melody Maker about their plans. In an echo of the way that he and Bruce had been resigned from Blues Incorporated without being consulted, now with no discussion Manfred Mann and John Mayall were reading in the papers that their band members were quitting before those members had bothered to mention it. Mayall was furious, especially since the album Clapton had played on hadn't yet come out. Clapton was supposed to work a month's notice while Mayall found another guitarist, but Mayall spent two weeks begging Peter Green to rejoin the band. Green was less than eager -- after all, he'd been fired pretty much straight away earlier -- but Mayall eventually persuaded him. The second he did, Mayall turned round to Clapton and told him he didn't have to work the rest of his notice -- he'd found another guitar player and Clapton was fired: [Excerpt: John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, "Dust My Blues"] Manfred Mann meanwhile took on the Beatles' friend Klaus Voorman to replace Bruce. Voorman would remain with the band until the end, and like Green was for Mayall, Voorman was in some ways a better fit for Manfred Mann than Bruce was. In particular he could double on flute, as he did for example on their hit version of Bob Dylan's "The Mighty Quinn": [Excerpt: Manfred Mann "The Mighty Quinn"] The new group, The Cream, were of course signed in the UK to Stigwood's Reaction label. Other than the Who, who only stuck around for one album, Reaction was not a very successful label. Its biggest signing was a former keyboard player for Screaming Lord Sutch, who recorded for them under the names Paul Dean and Oscar, but who later became known as Paul Nicholas and had a successful career in musical theatre and sitcom. Nicholas never had any hits for Reaction, but he did release one interesting record, in 1967: [Excerpt: Oscar, "Over the Wall We Go"] That was one of the earliest songwriting attempts by a young man who had recently named himself David Bowie. Now the group were public, they started inviting journalists to their rehearsals, which were mostly spent trying to combine their disparate musical influences --
It's time for the Comic Talk Headlines with Generally Nerdy! Full Length Episode!! Lots of trailers, announcements, and MORE!Tune in Wednesdays for the regular show and Saturdays for the re-post of the Friday night LIVE SHOW. Plus, don't forget to subscribe for more fresh content. MusicFollow-ups/CorrectionsHoward Jones/Adam Dutkiewicz - Have officially began recording music for that project we talked about. https://blabbermouth.net/news/killswitch-engage-guitarist-adam-dutkiewicz-and-ex-singer-howard-jones-begin-recording-debut-album-from-new-project New Music/VideoMotorhead - Enter Sandman https://youtu.be/kwJTpJjLJi4 Bring Me the Horizon - LosT https://youtu.be/xv-70a6yXfM Bush - All Things Must Change https://youtu.be/WtRtm9hcyJE new single from the deluxe edition of their album “The Art of Survival” that came out in 22. Why does modern production have such issues?The Hives - Bogus Operandi https://youtu.be/XVKHeBRox0k New album, first in 11 years “The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons” out August 11. World tour to support https://blabbermouth.net/news/the-hives-announce-first-album-in-11-years-share-bogus-operandi-music-video Reg ‘ol NewsDolly Parton - Rockstar album to be released Nov 17. 4 LP set. https://blabbermouth.net/news/dolly-parton-reveals-guests-title-release-date-and-track-listing-for-upcoming-rock-album-rockstar Sum 41 - officially breaking up… okay… set to happen upon the conclusion of their world tour in support of their, apparent, final album “Heaven :x: Hell” no release date yet. https://blabbermouth.net/news/sum-41-announces-split-we-are-excited-for-what-the-future-will-bring-for-each-of-us SuggestsKillswitch Engage “Signal Fire”The song was released as the third single from the album in August 2019. The song features guest vocals from Howard Jones, who was the band's lead vocalist from 2002 to 2012.Gaming/TechFollow-ups/CorrectionsHogwarts: Legacy - 3 months after release the game has already surpassed $1B.Starfield - ESRB rating comes out. M as was expected… but also “in-game purchases?”Street Fighter 6 - Open Beta May 19-21… sorry. Also only available on PS5, Xbox Series, and PC. https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/street-fighter-6-sf6-ps5-xbox-series-x-s-steam-open-beta/ Reg ‘ol NewsTucker Carlson X Twitter - Tucker's new show will be a Twitter exclusive? Elon's plan moves into the next stage.Hundred Acre Wood - Winnie the pooh HORROR GAME? Pooh bear and his cohorts have been changed by an “otherworldly Power” and it is up to the player to save Christopher Robin. It would seem only Pooh has been changed for the worse, as Eeyore, Piglet, Rabbit, Owl and Kanga will be helping the player. https://store.steampowered.com/app/2359340/Hundred_Acre_Wood/ SuggestsFallout 4Comic Books/BooksTrailersGargoyles - https://youtu.be/n3ZEqUrtzT8 Greg Weisman penned for Dynamite Entertainment. George Kambadais art. First collected edition (trade). July 12th.Reg ‘ol NewsDune - A Masterpiece in Disarray: David Lynch's Dune, an Oral History - Sept 5collects interviews with cast and crew members about the making of the film. The book paints a picture of a production beset by conflict and creative differences, but also one that was ultimately a labor of love for Lynch and his collaborators.https://nerdist.com/article/oral-history-of-david-lynch-dune-masterpiece-in-disarray-max-evry/ SuggestsDark Night's Metal2017 - 2018 monthly crossover comic book storyline published by DC Comics, which consisted of a core eponymous miniseries, and a number of other tie-in books. Premiering in June 2017 and lasting until April 2018, the plot was written by Scott Snyder, with art by Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion and FCO Plascencia. The story closely links with Snyder and Capullo's run on Batman during The New 52 DC relaunchTVFollow-ups/CorrectionsSweet Tooth - Season 3 confirmedThe Bear - Season 2 June 22 release date on Hulu. https://twitter.com/FXNetworks/status/1655618688530395138 Walker: Independence - Canceled after one season. (spinoff series)Yellowstone - Season 5 is, in fact, the final season, but there is a sequel in the works.TrailersTwisted Metal - https://youtu.be/cYb_HFHJJHs July 27 on Peacock.Tiny Toons: Looniversity - https://youtu.be/sy-QDB3yKAI revival of one of my favs. Fall on MAX.Walking Dead: Dead City - https://youtu.be/Zu2z-SY3hCk Daryl spinoff now expected in “late” 2023.Clone High - https://youtu.be/ETyP-G73iZ0 May 23 on MAX.Critical Role - https://youtu.be/XvlAgbSUiWw Candela Obscura May 25.Reg ‘ol NewsWriter's Strike - Affecting Daredevil, Blade among others. Not yet affecting Superman: Legacy. Dr Who - Jonathan Groff (agent Smith) cast in Mysterious role. Series 14 premieres this November. https://cosmicbook.news/doctor-who-casts-jonathan-groff-mysterious-role Letterkenny - Special episode May 19. https://twitter.com/LetterkennyProb/status/1655610090114764800 SuggestsSweet ToothAmerican fantasy drama television series developed by Jim Mickle. It is based on the comic book of the same name written by Jeff Lemire and published by DC Comics. The series premiered on Netflix on June 4, 2021MoviesFollow-ups/CorrectionsAlita: Battle Angel - Sequel is, in fact, in pre-production according to producer Jon Landau. https://boundingintocomics.com/2023/04/27/alita-battle-angel-producer-jon-landau-confirms-sequel-in-development-were-working-on-it/ MTV: Movie and Video Awards…Beetlejuice 2 - Sept 6 2024, Justin Theroux joins the cast. https://comicbook.com/horror/news/beetlejuice-2-casting-justin-theroux-confirmed-revealed-michael-keaton/ TrailersJustice League: Warworld - https://youtu.be/gUeq1PaiT1o Rated R? No firm release date yet?Dune: Part 2 - https://youtu.be/Way9Dexny3w FINALLY!!Gran Turismo - https://youtu.be/GVPzGBvPrzw Directed by Neal Blomkamp? August 11Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes - https://youtu.be/RDE6Uz73A7g Nov 17th.Oppenheimer - https://youtu.be/uYPbbksJxIg Sept 21. Oh, Christopher Nolan…Bird Box Barcelona - https://youtu.be/lT4EY1i6ZDs July 14th on NetflixReg ‘ol NewsBabylon 5 - Animated movie announced by creator J Michael Straczynski. https://twitter.com/straczynski/status/1653799076641779712 Carrie Fisher - Got a posthumous star of the Hollywood Walk fo Fame.https://comicbook.com/starwars/news/star-trek-picard-levar-burton-perfect-star-wars-day-may-4th-reaction-post/ SuggestsBrick is a 2005 American neo-noir mystery thriller film written and directed by Rian Johnson in his directorial debut, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Brick was distributed by Focus Features, and opened in New York and Los Angeles on April 7, 2006Rumor MillConfirmations/RefutationsFantastic Four - Mila Kunis NOT going to be The Thing.New SourcesMortal Kombat 2 - Karl Urban in talks for Johnny Cage?? Also word is that BARAKA will join sides with Johnny Cage out of respect. Also also, Cage will be the new leader of the Earthrealm forces??Fantastic Four - Margot Robbie for Sue Storm. Antonio Banderas as Galactus. Also NO SILVER SURFER. The Herold is said to be Terrax, with possibly more than just the one.Metal Gear 3 - PS5 exclusivity to some extent. To be announced at Playstation Showcase later this month.New RumorsCaptain America 4 - No more “New World Order”? World War Hulk is on?Star Wars - Dave Filoni movie producers reportedly want to include Luke, Leia, and Han.~ALSO~Damon Lindelof movie will feature an OLD Rey training her new jedi.Disney - In an attempt to increase the quality of their movies they are not reportedly paying the writers more… interesting considering the WGA strike.Gladiator 2 - Pedro Pascal now said to be joining the cast.Mortal Kombat 12 - Supposedly getting revealed during the Playstation Showcase later this month. ~ALSO~Peacemaker rumored as a guest character.You can support this show by visiting our merch store, or by leaving us an Apple Podcasts review.
It's time for the Comic Talk Headlines with Generally Nerdy! Full Length Episode!! Lots of trailers, announcements, and MORE!Tune in Wednesdays for the regular show and Saturdays for the re-post of the Friday night LIVE SHOW. Plus, don't forget to subscribe for more fresh content. MusicFollow-ups/CorrectionsHoward Jones/Adam Dutkiewicz - Have officially began recording music for that project we talked about. https://blabbermouth.net/news/killswitch-engage-guitarist-adam-dutkiewicz-and-ex-singer-howard-jones-begin-recording-debut-album-from-new-project New Music/VideoMotorhead - Enter Sandman https://youtu.be/kwJTpJjLJi4 Bring Me the Horizon - LosT https://youtu.be/xv-70a6yXfM Bush - All Things Must Change https://youtu.be/WtRtm9hcyJE new single from the deluxe edition of their album “The Art of Survival” that came out in 22. Why does modern production have such issues?The Hives - Bogus Operandi https://youtu.be/XVKHeBRox0k New album, first in 11 years “The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons” out August 11. World tour to support https://blabbermouth.net/news/the-hives-announce-first-album-in-11-years-share-bogus-operandi-music-video Reg ‘ol NewsDolly Parton - Rockstar album to be released Nov 17. 4 LP set. https://blabbermouth.net/news/dolly-parton-reveals-guests-title-release-date-and-track-listing-for-upcoming-rock-album-rockstar Sum 41 - officially breaking up… okay… set to happen upon the conclusion of their world tour in support of their, apparent, final album “Heaven :x: Hell” no release date yet. https://blabbermouth.net/news/sum-41-announces-split-we-are-excited-for-what-the-future-will-bring-for-each-of-us SuggestsKillswitch Engage “Signal Fire”The song was released as the third single from the album in August 2019. The song features guest vocals from Howard Jones, who was the band's lead vocalist from 2002 to 2012.Gaming/TechFollow-ups/CorrectionsHogwarts: Legacy - 3 months after release the game has already surpassed $1B.Starfield - ESRB rating comes out. M as was expected… but also “in-game purchases?”Street Fighter 6 - Open Beta May 19-21… sorry. Also only available on PS5, Xbox Series, and PC. https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/street-fighter-6-sf6-ps5-xbox-series-x-s-steam-open-beta/ Reg ‘ol NewsTucker Carlson X Twitter - Tucker's new show will be a Twitter exclusive? Elon's plan moves into the next stage.Hundred Acre Wood - Winnie the pooh HORROR GAME? Pooh bear and his cohorts have been changed by an “otherworldly Power” and it is up to the player to save Christopher Robin. It would seem only Pooh has been changed for the worse, as Eeyore, Piglet, Rabbit, Owl and Kanga will be helping the player. https://store.steampowered.com/app/2359340/Hundred_Acre_Wood/ SuggestsFallout 4Comic Books/BooksTrailersGargoyles - https://youtu.be/n3ZEqUrtzT8 Greg Weisman penned for Dynamite Entertainment. George Kambadais art. First collected edition (trade). July 12th.Reg ‘ol NewsDune - A Masterpiece in Disarray: David Lynch's Dune, an Oral History - Sept 5collects interviews with cast and crew members about the making of the film. The book paints a picture of a production beset by conflict and creative differences, but also one that was ultimately a labor of love for Lynch and his collaborators.https://nerdist.com/article/oral-history-of-david-lynch-dune-masterpiece-in-disarray-max-evry/ SuggestsDark Night's Metal2017 - 2018 monthly crossover comic book storyline published by DC Comics, which consisted of a core eponymous miniseries, and a number of other tie-in books. Premiering in June 2017 and lasting until April 2018, the plot was written by Scott Snyder, with art by Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion and FCO Plascencia. The story closely links with Snyder and Capullo's run on Batman during The New 52 DC relaunchTVFollow-ups/CorrectionsSweet Tooth - Season 3 confirmedThe Bear - Season 2 June 22 release date on Hulu. https://twitter.com/FXNetworks/status/1655618688530395138 Walker: Independence - Canceled after one season. (spinoff series)Yellowstone - Season 5 is, in fact, the final season, but there is a sequel in the works.TrailersTwisted Metal - https://youtu.be/cYb_HFHJJHs July 27 on Peacock.Tiny Toons: Looniversity - https://youtu.be/sy-QDB3yKAI revival of one of my favs. Fall on MAX.Walking Dead: Dead City - https://youtu.be/Zu2z-SY3hCk Daryl spinoff now expected in “late” 2023.Clone High - https://youtu.be/ETyP-G73iZ0 May 23 on MAX.Critical Role - https://youtu.be/XvlAgbSUiWw Candela Obscura May 25.Reg ‘ol NewsWriter's Strike - Affecting Daredevil, Blade among others. Not yet affecting Superman: Legacy. Dr Who - Jonathan Groff (agent Smith) cast in Mysterious role. Series 14 premieres this November. https://cosmicbook.news/doctor-who-casts-jonathan-groff-mysterious-role Letterkenny - Special episode May 19. https://twitter.com/LetterkennyProb/status/1655610090114764800 SuggestsSweet ToothAmerican fantasy drama television series developed by Jim Mickle. It is based on the comic book of the same name written by Jeff Lemire and published by DC Comics. The series premiered on Netflix on June 4, 2021MoviesFollow-ups/CorrectionsAlita: Battle Angel - Sequel is, in fact, in pre-production according to producer Jon Landau. https://boundingintocomics.com/2023/04/27/alita-battle-angel-producer-jon-landau-confirms-sequel-in-development-were-working-on-it/ MTV: Movie and Video Awards…Beetlejuice 2 - Sept 6 2024, Justin Theroux joins the cast. https://comicbook.com/horror/news/beetlejuice-2-casting-justin-theroux-confirmed-revealed-michael-keaton/ TrailersJustice League: Warworld - https://youtu.be/gUeq1PaiT1o Rated R? No firm release date yet?Dune: Part 2 - https://youtu.be/Way9Dexny3w FINALLY!!Gran Turismo - https://youtu.be/GVPzGBvPrzw Directed by Neal Blomkamp? August 11Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes - https://youtu.be/RDE6Uz73A7g Nov 17th.Oppenheimer - https://youtu.be/uYPbbksJxIg Sept 21. Oh, Christopher Nolan…Bird Box Barcelona - https://youtu.be/lT4EY1i6ZDs July 14th on NetflixReg ‘ol NewsBabylon 5 - Animated movie announced by creator J Michael Straczynski. https://twitter.com/straczynski/status/1653799076641779712 Carrie Fisher - Got a posthumous star of the Hollywood Walk fo Fame.https://comicbook.com/starwars/news/star-trek-picard-levar-burton-perfect-star-wars-day-may-4th-reaction-post/ SuggestsBrick is a 2005 American neo-noir mystery thriller film written and directed by Rian Johnson in his directorial debut, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Brick was distributed by Focus Features, and opened in New York and Los Angeles on April 7, 2006Rumor MillConfirmations/RefutationsFantastic Four - Mila Kunis NOT going to be The Thing.New SourcesMortal Kombat 2 - Karl Urban in talks for Johnny Cage?? Also word is that BARAKA will join sides with Johnny Cage out of respect. Also also, Cage will be the new leader of the Earthrealm forces??Fantastic Four - Margot Robbie for Sue Storm. Antonio Banderas as Galactus. Also NO SILVER SURFER. The Herold is said to be Terrax, with possibly more than just the one.Metal Gear 3 - PS5 exclusivity to some extent. To be announced at Playstation Showcase later this month.New RumorsCaptain America 4 - No more “New World Order”? World War Hulk is on?Star Wars - Dave Filoni movie producers reportedly want to include Luke, Leia, and Han.~ALSO~Damon Lindelof movie will feature an OLD Rey training her new jedi.Disney - In an attempt to increase the quality of their movies they are not reportedly paying the writers more… interesting considering the WGA strike.Gladiator 2 - Pedro Pascal now said to be joining the cast.Mortal Kombat 12 - Supposedly getting revealed during the Playstation Showcase later this month. ~ALSO~Peacemaker rumored as a guest character.You can support this show by visiting our merch store, or by leaving us an Apple Podcasts review.
It's been a year of incredible films and outstanding performances, and the 2023 Oscars have seen only the best of the best being recognized and celebrated. From the star-studded red Champagne) carpet to the thrilling speeches, the past year of cinema has been nothing short of spectacular. The Oscars typically present a slew of brilliant films and talent and this year at the 95th annual, there were no exceptions, with a variety of award categories and nominees being honored. From the Best Picture nominees to the Best Actor and Actress awards, there will be some incredible performances from some of the industry's leading actors and directors. The Best Picture category is a tightly contested one, with a number of stand-out films being nominated. The best Actors, Actress's Cinematographers, and more are also in a tight race to take home the golden statue.In this episode of Over TeaCup Sunday Diane and I do not want to take up too much of your time so we just wanted to say to you thank you very much for joining us on our special series of exploring the 2023 Oscar nominated films and people they were nominated for the 95th annual Oscars and we hope that you still have an opportunity to catch up on them before they come on this evening. We're just going to remind you of the films and the amazing talent that is displayed in this year's Oscars. If you haven't had a chance to catch up on one of them that you missed, maybe you can grab it really quick today. On a further note, we also explored some shorts and animated shorts that you really should check out. Here is a Guide to follow along tonight while you cheer on your favorite:2023 Oscar nominated films and actorsFilmsAll Quiet on the Western Front,” Malte Grunert, Producer“The Banshees of Inisherin,” Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin and Martin McDonagh, Producers“Elvis,” Baz Luhrmann, Catherine Martin, Gail Berman, Patrick McCormick and Schuyler Weiss,“Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert and Jonathan Wang,“Top Gun: Maverick,” Tom Cruise, Christopher McQuarrie, David Ellison and Jerry Bruckheimer, Producers“Triangle of Sadness,” Erik Hemmendorff and Philippe Bober, Producers“Avatar: The Way of Water,” James Cameron a new feature nd Jon Landau,Producers - theater“The Fabelmans,” Kristie Macosko Krieger, Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner, Producers“Tár,” Todd Field, Alexandra Milchan and Scott Lambert, Producers“Women Talking,” Produced by Emily Jade Foley, Jeremy Kleiner, Lyn Lucibello, Frances McDormand, Brad PittLead actor in a filmBest Lead ActorAustin Butler (“Elvis”) Colin Farrell (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) Brendan Fraser (“The Whale”) not availablePaul Mescal (“Aftersun”) Bill Nighy (“Living”) Best Lead ActressCate Blanchett (“Tár”) Ana de Armas (“Blonde”) Andrea Riseborough (“To Leslie”)Michelle Williams (“The Fabelmans”) Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”)Best Supporting ActorBrendan Gleeson (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) Brian Tyree Henry (“Causeway”) Judd Hirsch (“The Fabelmans”)Barry Keoghan (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) Ke Huy Quan (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) Best Supporting ActressAngela Bassett (“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”) Hong Chau (“The Whale”) Kerry Condon (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) Jamie Lee Curtis (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) Stephanie Hsu (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”)Best Adapted Screenplay“All Quiet on the Western Front,” Screenplay by Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson & Ian Stokell“Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” Written by...
In this episode we welcome the exemplary Fred Goodman and ask him about his journalistic career and highly acclaimed books. Fred talks about his early years as a jazz columnist for Cash Box, as well as his interest in the business side of popular music. He describes how a stint as a Senior Editor at Rolling Stone led to the idea of a book about "the head-on collision of rock and commerce", subsequently published as 1997's The Mansion on the Hill. Avid fans of that classic tome, Mark and Barney ask their guest about legendary figures such as Albert Grossman, David Geffen and Jon Landau, after which Fred explains why – in an effort to champion the late Mexican-American singer in her native USA – he wrote 2019's Why Lhasa de Sela Matters. Moving on to Fred's latest book Rock On Film, conversation turns to some of his favourite music movies from A Hard Day's Night to This is Spinal Tap with a nod to Michael Lindsay-Hogg who wrote the foreword to Rock On Film. Clips from an audio interview with the late D.A. Pennebaker lead in turn to a discussion of 1967's Bob Dylan documentary Dont Look Back. Not long after we've paid tribute to Television's mercurial Tom Verlaine, breaking news comes in that we've also just lost the great Burt Bacharach. Putting ourselves on the spot in real time, we talk about the genius who (with lyricist Hal David) created masterworks from 'Make it Easy on Yourself' to 'Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head'. Finally, Mark talks us out with quotes from pieces about folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary, the Rolling Stones' Beggars Banquet and the late David Crosby, while Jasper concludes the episode with remarks about pieces on Keane and pop's relationship with social class. Many thanks to special guest Fred Goodman. Rock on Film is published by Running Press and Why Lhasa De Sela Matters is published by University of Texas Press. Pieces discussed: The Mansion on the Hill, Rock and Roll on Film, Richard Lester audio, 25 Essential Music DVDs, The Harder They Come, Michael Lindsay-Hogg, Spinal Tap, Metallica's Some Kind of Monster, D.A. Pennebaker audio, Television, Tom Verlaine, Burt Bacharach, Peter, Paul and Mary, Beggars Banquet, David Crosby, Keane and Class. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Robert Winfree, Alexis Hejna and Mark Radulich present their Oscar Best Picture 2023 Nominees Discussion! The 95th Academy Awards will be presented on March 12, 2023, in a ceremony held by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. The awards will honor films released in 2022.The event will be televised in the U.S. by ABC and will be produced by Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss. Weiss is also the director. Comedian and late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel will host the show for the third time, after being given the honor for the 89th and 90th editions of the ceremony in 2017 and 2018.The nominee for Best Picture 2023 are:All Quiet on the Western Front – Malte Grunert, producerAvatar: The Way of Water – James Cameron and Jon Landau, producersThe Banshees of Inisherin – Graham Broadbent, Peter Czernin, and Martin McDonagh, producersElvis – Baz Luhrmann, Catherine Martin, Gail Berman, Patrick McCormick, and Schuyler Weiss, producersEverything Everywhere All at Once – Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert, and Jonathan Wang, producersThe Fabelmans – Kristie Macosko Krieger, Steven Spielberg, and Tony Kushner, producersTár – Todd Field, Alexandra Milchan, and Scott Lambert, producersTop Gun: Maverick – Tom Cruise, Christopher McQuarrie, David Ellison, and Jerry Bruckheimer, producersTriangle of Sadness – Erik Hemmendorff and Philippe Bober, producersWomen Talking – Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, and Frances McDormand, producersDisclaimer: The following may contain offensive language, adult humor, and/or content that some viewers may find offensive – The views and opinions expressed by any one speaker does not explicitly or necessarily reflect or represent those of Mark Radulich or W2M Network. Mark Radulich and his wacky podcast on all the things: https://linktr.ee/markkind76 also snapchat: markkind76 FB Messenger: Mark Radulich LCSW Tiktok: @markradulich twitter: @MarkRadulich
In this episode we welcome the exemplary Fred Goodman and ask him about his journalistic career and highly acclaimed books. Fred talks about his early years as a jazz columnist for Cash Box, as well as his interest in the business side of popular music. He describes how a stint as a Senior Editor at Rolling Stone led to the idea of a book about "the head-on collision of rock and commerce", subsequently published as 1997's The Mansion on the Hill. Avid fans of that classic tome, Mark and Barney ask their guest about legendary figures such as Albert Grossman, David Geffen and Jon Landau, after which Fred explains why – in an effort to champion the late Mexican-American singer in her native USA – he wrote 2019's Why Lhasa de Sela Matters. Moving on to Fred's latest book Rock On Film, conversation turns to some of his favourite music movies from A Hard Day's Night to This is Spinal Tap with a nod to Michael Lindsay-Hogg who wrote the foreword to Rock On Film. Clips from an audio interview with the late D.A. Pennebaker lead in turn to a discussion of 1967's Bob Dylan documentary Dont Look Back. Not long after we've paid tribute to Television's mercurial Tom Verlaine, breaking news comes in that we've also just lost the great Burt Bacharach. Putting ourselves on the spot in real time, we talk about the genius who (with lyricist Hal David) created masterworks from 'Make it Easy on Yourself' to 'Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head'. Finally, Mark talks us out with quotes from pieces about folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary, the Rolling Stones' Beggars Banquet and the late David Crosby, while Jasper concludes the episode with remarks about pieces on Keane and pop's relationship with social class. Many thanks to special guest Fred Goodman. Rock on Film is published by Running Press and Why Lhasa De Sela Matters is published by University of Texas Press. Pieces discussed: The Mansion on the Hill, Rock and Roll on Film, Richard Lester audio, 25 Essential Music DVDs, The Harder They Come, Michael Lindsay-Hogg, Spinal Tap, Metallica's Some Kind of Monster, D.A. Pennebaker audio, Television, Tom Verlaine, Burt Bacharach, Peter, Paul and Mary, Beggars Banquet, David Crosby, Keane and Class.
The Devil's Stomping Ground is a 100% North Carolina made film and supports many local actors and crew. Conceived, written, directed, produced, and edited by the incredible Jon Landau and stars local actor, Marc Bellinger. The Devil's Stomping Ground is an independent film about a true folk legend located in western NC, known as The Devil's Tramping Ground. The cast and crew spent 9 days at the actual site and claim some unexplained things happened while they were filming. This episode features inspiration from Jon on how the film was conceived, why it's important to never give up on your dreams, and the story of how Marc landed the lead role. The Devil's Stomping Ground is being released into theaters across the Carolinas on February 10, 2023 for a five day run and post run will be available on digital + streaming platforms. If you love film and watching movies, please consider purchasing a ticket and/or streaming the movie to help support NC Film and local artists. IG: @thedevilsstompingground | @marcbellingerofficial FB: @thedevilsstompingground | www.thedevilsstompingground.com | ______________________________________________________________________________ This episode of The Hourlgass Podcast is sponsored by Physician Selected. Listeners of the Hourglass Podcast can save 15% off their order with coupon code: HOURGLASS. Visit www.physicianselected.com to learn more about their mission and product selection. ______________________________________________________________________________ Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platform. ______________________________________________________________________________
Welcome to One More Thing Before You Go -Over the Teacup, your source for news and reviews on the Academy Awards. We're excited to take you inside the world of the Oscars 2023, as over the next 5 Sundays we review the nominated films, actors, directors, cinematographers, and more! From the Best Picture nominees to the Best Actor and Actress in Leading and Supporting roles, we'll be breaking down each category and giving you our take on who should take home the coveted Oscar. We'll also be discussing the technical categories, like Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects, and Best Editing. We'll be looking at how each nominee used their craft to bring their story to life. Don't forget to tune in to Over the Teacup over the next 5 Sundays for our Oscars 2023 Specials as we review the nominated films, actors, directors, cinematographers, and more. For the latest news, reviews, and commentary on the Academy Awards, make sure to follow us on social media. https://beforeyougopodcast.com #Oscars2023Best Feature FilmAll Quiet on the Western Front,” Malte Grunert, Producer “Avatar: The Way of Water,” James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers “The Banshees of Inisherin,” Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin and Martin McDonagh, Producers “Elvis,” Baz Luhrmann, Catherine Martin, Gail Berman, Patrick McCormick and Schuyler Weiss, Producers“Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert and Jonathan Wang, Producers“The Fabelmans,” Kristie Macosko Krieger, Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner, Producers“Tár,” Todd Field, Alexandra Milchan and Scott Lambert, Producers“Top Gun: Maverick,” Tom Cruise, Christopher McQuarrie, David Ellison and Jerry Bruckheimer, Producers“Triangle of Sadness,” Erik Hemmendorff and Philippe Bober, Producers We are going to discussBest Lead ActorAustin Butler (“Elvis”) Colin Farrell (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) Brendan Fraser (“The Whale”) not availablePaul Mescal (“Aftersun”) Bill Nighy (“Living”) Best Lead ActressCate Blanchett (“Tár”) Ana de Armas (“Blonde”) Andrea Riseborough (“To Leslie”)Michelle Williams (“The Fabelmans”) Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”)Best Supporting ActorBrendan Gleeson (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) Brian Tyree Henry (“Causeway”) Judd Hirsch (“The Fabelmans”)Barry Keoghan (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) Ke Huy Quan (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) Best Supporting ActressAngela Bassett (“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”) Hong Chau (“The Whale”) Kerry Condon (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) Jamie Lee Curtis (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) Stephanie Hsu (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”)So today just enjoy the rest of your day please and explore some of our other episodes that you may enjoy we have about 247 of them you can choose from, Wednesday is going to be the normal schedule and starting next Sunday February 5th 2023 we're going to start our Oscar countdown! We're looking forward to this unique project and sharing it with you between now and the time the Oscars come out on Sunday March 12th 2023 on ABCWe have a great conversation coming up on Wednesday February 1st and a fantastic lineup over the next couple of months we're going to talk about UFOs/ UAP's, witches and warlocks, some additional conversations about tuning into your personal psychic abilities, near death experiences and what we can expect from the “other side, the in-between and Heaven and Hell ” We are very grateful for you as part of our one more thing before you go family and as always if you have any suggestions, want to be on the show, or know somebody that would fit our program...
Welcome to our AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER movie review with FULL SPOILERS!!! We are joined by Joe Stark (StarkCast) and Paul Hart (Cinedudes) as we rate and review the 2nd entry in James Cameron's science fiction fantasy. Did Avatar 2 blow us away with the story or was it just another attempt at wowing us with visual effects? We also have theories for future installments of the franchise. Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, “Avatar: The Way of Water” begins to tell the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure. Directed by James Cameron and produced by Cameron and Jon Landau, the film stars Zoe Saldana, Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Cliff Curtis, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Edie Falco, Jemaine Clement and Kate Winslet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Avatar: The Way of Water (2022 science fiction movie), starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana and directed by James Cameron as reviewed by Charlie and JacksonDirected by James Cameron and produced by Cameron and Jon Landau, the film stars Zoe Saldana, Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Cliff Curtis, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Edie Falco, Jemaine Clement and Kate Winslet. #avatarthewayofwater #avatar #avatar_creator_factory Listen to the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack from "Avatar: The Way of Water": https://20thcenturystudios.lnk.to/Ava... Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, “Avatar: The Way of Water” begins to tell the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure. Directed by James Cameron and produced by Cameron and Jon Landau, the Lightstorm Entertainment Production stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang and Kate Winslet. Screenplay by James Cameron & Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver. Story by James Cameron & Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver & Josh Friedman & Shane Salerno. David Valdes and Richard Baneham serve as the film's executive producers. Get tickets now: www.fandango.com/avatarthewayofwaterTwitter: @OfficialAvatar @20thCenturyFB/IG: @avatar @20thCenturyStudiosThis episode is sponsored by www.betterhelp.com/TheBarn and presented to you by The Barn Media Group.
Avatar: The Way of Water is a 2022 American epic science fiction film and the sequel to the 2009 film Avatar, both directed by James Cameron. It is distributed by 20th Century Studios as the second film in the Avatar series. Cameron produced it with Jon Landau and wrote the screenplay with Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, based on a story the three wrote with Josh Friedman and Shane Salerno. Host(s) Thomas Cowley, Michael Flores
Avatar: The Way of Water is a 2022 American epic science fiction film and the sequel to the 2009 film Avatar, both directed by James Cameron. It is distributed by 20th Century Studios as the second film in the Avatar series. Cameron produced it with Jon Landau and wrote the screenplay with Rick Jaffa and...
Interviews with James Cameron, Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Sigourney Weaver, and Jon Landau. All courtesy of 20th Century Fox and epk.tv
2009's Avatar is - at the time of writing - the biggest film of all time. Ever. And now, 13 years later, its sequel is finally hitting cinemas, going by the name of Avatar: The Way Of Water. In this audio version of the BBC iPlayer programme, Ali speaks to the cast of the films - as well as producer Jon Landau and director (amongst many other things) James Cameron - to ask after the secret of the series' enormous success.
Get a whole month of great cinema FREE on MUBI: mubi.com/themoviepodcastOn this SPECIAL EDITION of The Movie Podcast, Daniel and Shahbaz are joined by SPECIAL GUESTS Bailey Bass, Jamie Flatters, Trinity Jo-Li Bliss, and Jack Champion of Avatar: The Way of Water. Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, "Avatar The Way of Water" begins to tell the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive and the tragedies they endure.Listen to The Movie Podcast interview now on all podcast feeds, YouTube, and TheMoviePodcast.caContact: hello@themoviepodcast.caTHE MOVIE PODCAST ON ET CANADA!THE MOVIE PODCAST MERCHANDISE NOW AVAILABLE!FOLLOW USDaniel on Twitter, Instagram, and LetterboxdShahbaz on Twitter, Instagram, and LetterboxdAnthony on Twitter, Instagram, and LetterboxdThe Movie Podcast on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Discord, and YouTube
Avatar - La via dell'acqua: 4 chiacchiere con Jon Landau (Produttore di Titanic e Avatar)
Avatar: The Way of Water (2022 science fiction movie), starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana and directed by James Cameron as reviewed by Charlie and JacksonDirected by James Cameron and produced by Cameron and Jon Landau, the film stars Zoe Saldana, Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Cliff Curtis, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Edie Falco, Jemaine Clement and Kate Winslet.#avatarthewayofwater #avatar #avatar_creator_factoryListen to the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack from "Avatar: The Way of Water": https://20thcenturystudios.lnk.to/Ava... Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, “Avatar: The Way of Water” begins to tell the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure. Directed by James Cameron and produced by Cameron and Jon Landau, the Lightstorm Entertainment Production stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang and Kate Winslet. Screenplay by James Cameron & Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver. Story by James Cameron & Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver & Josh Friedman & Shane Salerno. David Valdes and Richard Baneham serve as the film's executive producers. Get tickets now: www.fandango.com/avatarthewayofwaterTwitter: @OfficialAvatar @20thCenturyFB/IG: @avatar @20thCenturyStudiosThis episode is sponsored by www.betterhelp.com/TheBarn and presented to you by The Barn Media Group.
Get a whole month of great cinema FREE on MUBI: mubi.com/themoviepodcastDaniel, Shahbaz, & Anthony review James Cameron's AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER. Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, "Avatar The Way of Water" begins to tell the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive and the tragedies they endure. The film stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Stephen Lang, Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Edie Falco, Jemaine Clement, Brendan Cowell, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Giovanni Ribisi, Dileep Rao, and Matt Gerald, with Sigourney Weaver returning in a new role. Avatar: The Way of Water releases exclusively in theatres December 16, 2022 by 20th Century Studios.Listen to The Movie Podcast review now on all podcast feeds, YouTube, and TheMoviePodcast.caContact: hello@themoviepodcast.caTHE MOVIE PODCAST ON ET CANADA!THE MOVIE PODCAST MERCHANDISE NOW AVAILABLE!FOLLOW USDaniel on Twitter, Instagram, and LetterboxdShahbaz on Twitter, Instagram, and LetterboxdAnthony on Twitter, Instagram, and LetterboxdThe Movie Podcast on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Discord, and YouTube
What came first – space stories from the 1990s or the smartphone? The fourth episode of the "Future Dimensions" feature podcast by Mercedes-Benz demonstrates how fiction and reality consistently inspire one another. Ricardia talks to architect and film director Liam Young about why fictional worlds are also a reflection of our society. She asks design professor Dennis Cheatham how sci-fi technology is shaping our everyday lives. Learns from science fiction professor Lisa Yaszek why we should all dream of a better world, even in challenging times. And takes a deep dive into the fascination, power and responsibility of fictional stories with Jon Landau – the legendary producer of the Avatar films. Are you looking for additional insights into exciting visions? Explore our website now: https://www.mercedes-benz.com/en/art-and-culture/zeitgeist/mercedes-benz-podcast
Dr. Allison Bumsted joins Phoebe and Daphne to discuss how rock journalism in the 1970s re-shaped Paul McCartney's critical reputation for the next three decades (and beyond). Also discussed in this episode: authenticity, gatekeeping, rock aesthetics and rhetoric, hyper-masculinity and the inherent inclusivity of pop. SOURCES Paul McCartney interviewed on Radio Luxembourg May 12, 1973 Something About the Beatles, “Critiquing the Critics” Episodes 176a and 176b A Women's History of the Beatles, Christine Feldman-Barrett (2021) The Beatles and the Historians, Erin Torkelson-Weber (2016) Truant Boy: Art, Authenticity and Paul McCartney, Martin Shough (2017) Faking It: The Quest for Authenticity in Popular Music, Yuval Taylor and Hugh Barker (2007) “Main Lines, Blood Feasts, and Bad Taste: A Lester Bangs Reader,” Lester Bangs (2003) “Physical Graffiti” review by Jim Miller, Rolling Stone (March 27, 1975) John Landau reviews RAM, (July 8, 1971) Wildlife review by John Mendelssohn, Rolling Stone (Jan 20, 1972) Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, written by Allen Evans, NME (May 20, 1967) “The Jefferson Airplane and the San Francisco Sound,” Ralph J Gleason (1969) “Just Two Superstars from Middle Rock,” NY Times (Aug 3, 1975) “Imagine” review by Ben Gerson (Oct 28, 1971) “The Former Beatle Gets Personal” Paul Gambincini, Rolling Stone (Jan 31, 1974) “Records: Paul McCartney and Wings” Band on the Run review by Dave Downing, Let it Rock (1974) Band on the Run review, Jon Landau (1974) “Paul and Linda McCartney: Bionic couple serves it your way” Lester Bangs, Creem: 34–39 and 72–73 (1976) “Yesterday, Today and Paul” Rolling Stone, Ben Fong-Torres (June 17 1976) "Paul McCartney & Wings" Rolling Stone page 14; Paul Gambaccini (June 21 1973) Life Magazine (November 7, 1969) “Man of the Year” Rolling Stone, Jann Wenner (February 7, 1970) “Sound effects: Youth, Leisure, and the Politics of Rock ‘n' Roll” Simon Frith. New York: Pantheon Books (197.) "Rod Stewart's Holiday Turkey: Blondes Have More Fun Review" Rolling Stone, Janet Maslin (Feb 8, 1979) "Every Picture Tells a Story" Review Rolling Stone, John Mendelsohn (July 8, 1971) OTHER WRITERS MENTIONED Pete Wiley, Robert Christgau, Matt Brennan, Holly Tessler, Leonard Feather, Leroy Jones, Barbara Gardner, Nat Hentoff, Simon Frith, Jim DeRogatis ALLISON'S LINKS My social (Inast and Twitter @Allison Bumsted) Website: www.allisonbumsted.com (I update it with what's happening) Book Link: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-85543-7 Chapter Link:: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-85543-7_5 (ask your local library to get a hold of the book!) PLAYLIST The Mess (live at the Hague) WINGS Band on the Run PAUL McCARTNEY & WINGS Wildlife WINGS Too Many People PAUL & LINDA MCCARTNEY I Am Your Singer WINGS Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey PAUL & LINDA MCCARTNEY Mama's Little Girl PAUL MCCARTNEY & WINGS Let Me Roll it PAUL MCCARTNEY & WINGS Rockshow WINGS
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