#Hal Willner

[krispyweiss]

Friday Flashback: Todd Rundgren, Taj Mahal and Michele Grey Tell “Night Music” Viewers “Never Mind the Why and Wherefore”

In character and in costume, Todd Rundgren, Taj Mahal and Michele Grey infused “Night Music” with a little Gilbert and Sullivan in 1989.

The three principals are at once serious and silly as they act out their version of “Never Mind the Why and Wherefore” from “H.M.S. Pinafore.”

The band includes David Sanborn on saxophone, Pat Metheny on guitar and Hal Willner on all-important triangle.

Rundgren, as the Captain, uses everything his nimble voice has to offer, plugging his nose at one point and inhaling and exhaling dramatically for effect.

As Sir Joseph and Josephine, respectively, Mahal and Grey are similarly ridiculous, with the former moving stiffly and the latter emitting and exaggerated, sex-kitten vibe, no doubt drawing on her time with the Tubes.

It’s a remarkable performance, made all the more so by the fact they’re all simply clowning around.

Friday Flashback is an occasional series in which Sound Bites looks back at memorable musical moments on television

4/21/23

#Youtube #todd rundgren #taj mahal #michele grey #night music #friday flashback #gilbert and sullivan #h.m.s. pinafore #the tubes #david sanborn #pat metheny #hal willner

[waderockett]

Stay Awake

Who was it that said “Damn it all. Damn everything But the circus”?

#disney #disney music #stay awake #alternative music #ken nordine #michael stipe #Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music from Vintage Disney Films #tribute album #cover album #1988 #80s music #natalie merch #the roches #mark bingham #los lobos #Bill Frisell #Wayne Horvitz #Hal Willner #rodney greenblat #disney covers #I'm Getting Wet And I Don't Care At All #Youtube

[sinceileftyoublog]

Beth Orton Live Preview: 11/10, Mayfair Theatre, Chicago

Photo by Eliot Lee Hazel

BY JORDAN MAINZER

For Beth Orton, Weather Alive (Partisan) is somewhat of a rebirth. Her first album in 6 years, it was written on a described “cheap, crappy” piano set up in her garden shed that she had purchased at Camden Market. Following periods of grief and trauma surrounding the deaths of close collaborators Andrew Weatherall and Hal Willner and incorrectly diagnosed health problems, Orton was able to write songs about simple, yet abstract things that moved her: love, sex, music, and, yes, the weather. She found an all-star band to help realize her compositions, including drummer Tom Skinner, multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Ismaily, bassist Tom Herbert and saxophonist Alabaster dePlume. Best, Orton self-produced the record, name-checking and somehow nailing a who’s who of influences: Solange, Talk Talk, Springsteen’s Nebraska. The result is easily the best album of her career.

From the get-go, with its stunning title track, Weather Alive introduces its palate, clacking, gentle percussion and piano, muted, but emotive saxophone and bass, and Orton’s raspy, weary drawl. “Almost makes me wanna cry,” she sings, “The weather’s so beautiful outside.” Coming out of an age where realized how much we took for granted the ability to simply be outside, it’s easy to resonate with Orton’s words, awestruck at the natural world. On “Fractals”, explicitly inspired by Willner and Weatherall’s deaths, Orton sings over funky bass, skittering hi hats, and fluttering saxophone. The mathematical nature of the title contrasts how Orton describes creating with cohorts past and present: as “magic.” “Friday Night” is like a microcosm of the beginning of the summer, a symbol for vague hope before a period of time. For Orton, it’s a feeling of being able to potentially see loved ones again. “And though I’ll never get too close,” she sings, “I still hold you now and then.”

At the same time, Weather Alive is sometimes subsumed by dark moments that are no less gorgeous than the hopeful ones. “Lonely” begins with trombone from Aaron Roche, which has a suitably more foreboding quality than dePlume’s saxophone, and goes on to illustrate the depths of Orton’s shame. “Lonely likes my company,” she sings as Skinner’s drums crash. Later, her parents, who passed away when she was a teenager, appear on the song to scold her, telling her to “shut your mouth if someone desires you.” On “Haunted Satellite”, Orton’s voice is persistent, but ultimately shaky and broken. Album closer “Unwritten” unfurls over 7 minutes of sprinkling piano and light drums. “I was getting unwritten,” signs Orton before a droning instrumental outro. It’s an appropriate ending for an album steeped in mortality and sadness but appreciating the dreams along the way.

Tonight, as part of her first US headlining tour in 5 years, Orton performs at the Mayfair Theatre in the Irish American Heritage Center, somehow, someway adapting the “magic” of Weather Alive to the live stage. Expect to hear the full album as well as favorites from favorite records like Trailer Park and Central Reservation. Musician and composer Heather Woods Broderick, who’s playing in Orton’s band, will give an opening set of her material.

#live picks #beth orton #irish american heritage center #partisan #tom skinner #heather woods broderick #weather alive #mayfair theatre #eliot lee hazel #partisan records #andrew weatherall #hal willner #shahzad ismaily #tom herbert #alabaster deplume #solange #talk talk #bruce springsteen #nebraska #aaron roche #trailer park #central reservation #springsteen

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Photograph by Guido Harari.

* * *

"Lou was sick for the last couple of years, first from treatments of interferon, a vile but sometimes effective series of injections that treats hepatitis C and comes with lots of nasty side effects. Then he developed liver cancer, topped off with advancing diabetes. We got good at hospitals. He learned everything about the diseases, and treatments. He kept doing tai chi every day for two hours, plus photography, books, recordings, his radio show with Hal Willner and many other projects. He loved his friends, and called, texted, e-mailed when he couldn’t be with them. We tried to understand and apply things our teacher Mingyur Rinpoche said – especially hard ones like, 'You need to try to master the ability to feel sad without actually being sad.'

"Last spring, at the last minute, he received a liver transplant, which seemed to work perfectly, and he almost instantly regained his health and energy. Then that, too, began to fail, and there was no way out. But when the doctor said, 'That’s it. We have no more options,' the only part of that Lou heard was 'options' – he didn’t give up until the last half-hour of his life, when he suddenly accepted it – all at once and completely. We were at home – I’d gotten him out of the hospital a few days before – and even though he was extremely weak, he insisted on going out into the bright morning light.

"As meditators, we had prepared for this – how to move the energy up from the belly and into the heart and out through the head. I have never seen an expression as full of wonder as Lou’s as he died. His hands were doing the water-flowing 21-form of tai chi. His eyes were wide open. I was holding in my arms the person I loved the most in the world, and talking to him as he died. His heart stopped. He wasn’t afraid. I had gotten to walk with him to the end of the world. Life – so beautiful, painful and dazzling – does not get better than that. And death? I believe that the purpose of death is the release of love.

"At the moment, I have only the greatest happiness and I am so proud of the way he lived and died, of his incredible power and grace.

"I’m sure he will come to me in my dreams and will seem to be alive again. And I am suddenly standing here by myself stunned and grateful. How strange, exciting and miraculous that we can change each other so much, love each other so much through our words and music and our real lives.--Laurie Anderson on Lou Reed for Rolling Stone, November 6, 2013.

According to Will Hermes, in his biography "Lou Reed: The King of New York," Reed's final words to Laurie Anderson were “Take me into the light.”

[Follies Of God]

#Follies of God #Laurie Anderson #stories #love #dreams #Lou Reed: The King of New york #into the light #memory #remembrance

[burlveneer-music]

Ghost Train Orchestra & Kronos Quartet - Songs and Symphoniques: The Music of Moondog

On "Songs and Symphoniques: The Music of Moondog," Ghost Train Orchestra teams up with the trailblazing Kronos Quartet to celebrate and reimagine the music of Louis Hardin, aka Moondog, the ground-breaking composer and poet who lived on the streets of New York City in the 50s and 60s, and influenced the minimalists Philip Glass, Steve Reich and Terry Riley. A blind composer who moved from Kansas to New York City and built his own instruments and mythology, Moondog's story and music continue to be an inspiration to many. Along with guests Sam Amidon, Jarvis Cocker, Petra Haden, Karen Mantler, Marissa Nadler, Aoife O'Donovan, Rufus Wainwright and Joan Wasser, the two groups explore Moondog's sense of whimsy, wonder and adventure through a cross-section of songs and instrumentals for large ensemble, string ensemble, percussion and voice. The vinyl and CD packages include an essay by biographer Robert Scotto, Moondog's song lyrics, extensive in-studio photographs by Dan Efram, and an interview with Kronos Quartet founder David Harrington and Ghost Train Orchestra founder Brian Carpenter, mediated by music historian Irwin Chusid. Kronos Quartet David Harrington - violin John Sherba - violin Hank Dutt - viola Sunny Yang - cello Ghost Train Orchestra Brian Carpenter, trumpet, harmonica, vocals Andy Laster, alto saxophone, flute Dennis Lichtman, clarinet Matt Bauder, bass clarinet, tenor, baritone saxophones Sara Schoenbeck, bassoon Curtis Hasselbring, trombone, guitar Ron Caswell, tuba Brandon Seabrook, guitar Chris Lightcap, bass Rob Garcia, drums David Cossin, marimba, percussion Maxim Moston, violin Colin Stetson, bass saxophone Guests: Sam Amidon, Jarvis Cocker, Petra Haden, Karen Mantler, Marissa Nadler, Aoife O'Donovan, Rufus Wainwright, and Joan Wasser All new arrangements by Ghost Train Orchestra Dedicated to the memory of Hal Willner

#Ghost Train Orchestra #kronos quartet #moondog #covers #modern classical #outsider music #2023 #jazz #Bandcamp

[melodiousmonk]

LAURIE ANDERSON on her life with LOU REED:

′′Lou and I played together, became best friends, and then comrades, we traveled, listened and criticized each other's work, studied things together (butterfly hunting, meditation, kayaking). We made ridiculous jokes; quit smoking 20 times; fought; learned to hold our breath underwater; went to Africa; sang opera arias in the elevator; made friends with unlikely people; followed each other on tour when possible; we had a sweet dog playing piano; shared a house that was different to our respective apartments; we protected and loved each other. We often went to see art, music, shows, theatre and I watched how he loved and appreciated other artists and musicians. He was always so generous. He knew how difficult the environment was. We loved our West Village life and our friends; and we always did everything in the best way we could.

Like many couples, each of us has built a way of being: strategies, sometimes compromised, which allowed us to be part of a couple. Sometimes we lost a little more than what we were capable of giving, or gave in a little too much, or felt abandoned. Sometimes we really got angry. But even when I was out of my mind, I was never bored. We learned to forgive each other. And somehow, for 21 years, we've intertwined our minds and hearts together.

It was spring 2008. I was walking down the street in California feeling knocked down and talking on my phone with Lou. ‘There are so many things I never did and want to do?’ I told him.

′′ Like what, for example?"

′′ I don't know, I never learned German, I never studied physics, I never married ′′

′′ Why don't we get married?" he asked. ′′ We could meet halfway there. Arriving in Colorado. How about tomorrow?"

′′ Uhm... don't you think tomorrow is a little early?"

′′ No, I don't think so ".

And so the next day we met in Boulder, Colorado, and married in a friend's garden on Saturday, wearing our normal Saturday clothes, and although I had to play a show right after the ceremony, Lou was ok with it. (Musicians marrying is like when two lawyers marry. When you say ′′damn I have to work in the studio until 2am,” or cancel all your appointments to close the case. You know exactly what it means and you don't necessarily jump for joy).

I guess there are many ways to get married. Some people marry someone they barely know, which can even work. When you marry what's also your best friend for several years, there should be another name for it. But the thing that surprised me the most about getting married is how time changes. And also how it somehow adds a tenderness that was, in some way, completely new. To paraphrase the great Willie Nelson: ′′ 90 % of people this way end up with the wrong person, and that's what still makes juke boxes play." Lou's Jukebox was full of love and many other things : beauty, pain, history, courage, mystery.

Lou had been sick for two years now: first for interferon treatment, a series of vile but often effective injections to treat hepatitis C which is equipped with a good series of annoying side effects. Then a liver cancer took over, which was added to an advanced form of diabetes. We achieved good results in the hospital. He learned everything about these diseases and their treatments. He continued to do Tai Chi every day for two hours plus photographs, books, recordings, his radio broadcast with Hal Willner and many other projects. He loved his friends, and called, texted, emails when he couldn't be with them. We tried to understand and apply the teachings that our master Mingyur Rinpoche imparted; especially the most difficult ones such as ′′ you must learn to master the ability to feel sad without actually being sad ".

Last spring, at the last minute, he received a liver transplant that seemed to have worked completely and instantly regained health and energy. Then even that started working badly, and there was no escape. When the doctor said, ′′ It's over. There are no options anymore ", the only part Lou heard was ′′ options ". He didn't give up until the last half hour of his life, when he suddenly accepted it: suddenly and completely.

We were at home. I had taken him out of the hospital a few days earlier. And even though he was very weak, he insisted on coming out in the morning blinding light.

As people used to meditation, we were prepared for this: how to move energy from your belly to your core and then push it out of your head. I've never seen an expression as full of wonder as Lou's when he died. His hands were doing the shape 21 of Tai Chi, that of flowing water. Her eyes were wide open. I was holding in my arms the person I loved more than anything in the world and talking to him while he died. His heart stopped beating. He wasn't scared. I was able to walk with him to the end of the world. Life - so beautiful, painful and spectacular - can't give anything more than this.

What about death? I think the purpose of death is to free love."

~Laurie Anderson~

#laurie anderson #lou reed #meditation

[brandnulife]

Celebrities Who Had Covid-19, Part Two

Abby Mueller

Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne (deceased)

Al Sharpton

Amy Robach

Ana Narvaro

Angela Kinsey

Anthony Fauci

Antonia Banderas

Ashanti

Beanie Feldstein

Ben Carson

Bill and Guiliana Rancic

Brian Cox

Brielle Biermann

Boris Johnson

Camila Cabello

Charlotte Lawrence

Chris Christie

Coco Gauff

D’Andra Simmons

Drew Pinsky

Ellen DeGeneres

George Stephanopoulus

Gloria Estefan

Grimes

Gwyneth Paltrow

Hal Willner (deceased)

Hannah Brown and Adam Woolard

Hilary Duff

Hugh Grant

Indira Varma

J.K. Rowling

Jason Tartick and Kaitlyn Bristowe

Jay Benedict (deceased)

Jimmy Kimmel

Joe Exotic

John Prine (deceased)

Kellyanne Conway

Kenzo Takada (deceased)

Khloe Kardashian

Kristofer Hivju

Larry King (deceased)

Lena Dunham

Lewis Hamilton

Lil Cease

Liv Tyler

Marcus Smart

Maxine Waters

Michael Strahan

Nancy Grace

Peter Giannikopoulos

The Pretty Reckless

Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla

Queen Elizabeth II

Rev. John Jenkins

Rachel Matthews

Robin Roberts

Rudy Guiliani

Sara Bareilles

Sarah Michelle Gellar

Sarah Palin

Sean Payton

Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne

Shawn Johnson

Sunny Hostin

Tiffany Haddish

Tom Brady

Trisha Yearwood

Vivek Murthy

Whoopi Goldberg

Xavier Becerra

#covid19

[jazztidbits]

Bill Frisell - Waltz for Hal Willner (Visualizer)

Artist: Bill Frisell 

Song: Waltz for Hal Wilner 

 Bill Frisell: Electric Guitar Gregory Tardy: Tenor Saxophone  Gerald Clayton: Piano J Johnathan Blake: Drums

#youtube

[popentertainment-moviereviews]

HALLELUJAH: LEONARD COHEN, A JOURNEY, A SONG (2022)

Featuring Brandi Carlile, Eric Church, Judy Collins, Sharon Robinson, Regina Spektor, Rufus Wainwright, Nancy Bacal, Steve Berkowitz, Adrienne Clarkson, Clive Davis, Shayne Doyle, Susan Feldman, Rabbi Mordecai Finley, Glen Hansard, Dominique Issermann, Vicky Jenson, Myles Kennedy, John Lissauer, Janine Dreyer Nichols, Amanda Palmer, Larry 'Ratso' Sloman, Joan Wasser, Hal Willner and archival footage of Leonard Cohen, John Cale, Bob Dylan and Jeff Buckley.

Directed by Daniel Geller and Dayna Goldfine.

Distributed by Sony Pictures Classics. 115 minutes. Rated PG-13.

“It was [the] trajectory that made me interested in exploring the song. I cannot think of another song that had a comparable experience. Anything that's up in that altitude, songs like ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ or ‘Imagine,’ people got right away that those were important songs. They were big hits. Obviously, their meaning changed over time, but there was this huge splash and then everybody was aware of them. ‘Hallelujah,’ when Leonard turned in the album the song was on, his label rejected it. Columbia didn't put the album out. Then when it came out on an indie label a little later, nobody noticed the song. The review in Rolling Stone was a nice review, but it didn't mention ‘Hallelujah.’ So this song starts not just under the radar, but way off the radar. No one knew it was there. It's the fact that it [appeared] slowly but surely. It was never a hit. It was never one thing where everybody discovers this song. It was a gradual build of momentum that kind of snowballed, in fact, from different covers and different versions and different uses.”

This was the explanation that music journalist Alan Light gave me in 2013 when we were discussing his then-new book The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley & the Unlikely Ascent of "Hallelujah," which was an in-depth examination of the slow rise of the song to iconic status.

The new documentary Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song was inspired by that book (Light is one of the producers of the film as well as one of the consultants about the subject), although it takes a slightly different tack than the tome. Light made a point to make the narrative about the strange journey of the song, not spending more than a chapter or two of its time specifically on the creator. (“The book could have gotten too top-heavy as a Leonard and Jeff [Buckley] co-biography,” Light explained to me at the time.)

While the film does explore the strange path that the song took to becoming a musical standard, the film is more of a straight biography of singer-songwriter Cohen which periodically swerves into different directions about other uses of the tune.

And you know what? That’s okay. Leonard Cohen’s life is endlessly fascinating. I’m all in, either way.

Which is not to say that there is not enough just in the one song. “Hallelujah” was an ongoing work in progress for years, with the songwriter tinkering with the lyrics long after he had originally recorded the song. In fact, he supposedly had written 180-some verses of the song over the years.

It seeped into the public consciousness slowly. First off, Bob Dylan took to occasionally covering the song in concert. Then former Velvet Underground member John Cale did a reworked version on a Leonard Cohen tribute album. It was that version that led to the recording which may have opened the floodgates – singer Jeff Buckley’s recording of the song on his debut album Grace was based on Cale’s version, he had never heard the Cohen original.

Since then, the song has been used in multiple different ways. Anytime there is a huge celebration someone sings it. Anytime there is a great tragedy, someone sings it. It has been used at sporting events, at weddings, at funerals. It is a staple on TV music reality competition shows. It has been recorded in dozens of holiday albums – even though other than the title and some religious imagery there is nothing even the least bit “Christmas-y” about it. It was even used in Shrek.

While it is undoubtedly Leonard Cohen’s best-known song, it is not necessarily Leonard Cohen’s best song. (And this is coming from someone who loves the song.) Therefore, the film Hallelujah does the public service of opening up significantly more of Cohen’s body of work to fans who may know only the one song.

It also gives us a fascinating ride-along on the very unusual pathway of Cohen’s career. He started as a poet and acclaimed novelist who didn’t even start in music until his 30s, at which point he was probably a little old, a little rich, and a little well-dressed for the hippy summer of love lifestyle he was entering. Still, Cohen was an unusually thoughtful and philosophical man with a sterling sense of language, a man who was able to sustain a career for over 40 years without once having a real hit single.

He was the type of man who would put his life on hold for six years just to take a spiritual retreat at a Buddhist monastery. He was a man who lived in the same home for decades, even when he could afford to move someplace much nicer. He was the kind of man who was so unworried about the material that he didn’t even notice that his manager had stolen all of his money. And he was the kind of man who when that happened, he just hit the road for the first time in decades, touring for years and not only making back all the money he lost, but also revitalizing his career to the point that when he died in 2016, he was probably more respected as an artist than he ever had been.

“Hallelujah” was a big part of the story, but it was not the whole thing. The movie Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song tells even more of that story. After all, as the guy himself said in his song “Anthem,” “There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” The world is a better place because this movie is letting in the light.

Jay S. Jacobs

Copyright ©2022 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: July 1, 2022.

#Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen A Journey A Song #2022 #Movie Reviews #Leonard Cohen #Jay S. Jacobs

[ginzyblog]

Performing “Birdbrain” with The Gluons, bassist Ted Wahl behind him, at Denver’s now defunct legendary punk club, Wallaby’s, August 1981 (photographer unknown / courtesy Ginsberg collection) Birdbrain runs the World! Birdbrain is the ultimate product of Capitalism Birdbrain chief bureaucrat of Russia, yawning Birdbrain ran FBI 30 years appointed by F. D. Roosevelt and never chased Cosa Nostra! Birdbrain apportions wheat to be burned, keep prices up on the world market! Birdbrain lends money to Developing Nation police-states thru the International Monetary Fund!“Birdbrain never gets laid on his own he depends on his office to pimp for him Birdbrain offers brain transplants in Switzerland Birdbrain wakes up in middle of night and arranges his sheets I am Birdbrain! (Birdbrain was released in 1981 as a 7” on Alekos Records, with Sue Your Parents on the B side, and produced by Mike Chapelle. It later appeared in “Holy Soul Jelly Roll “4 cd set, produced by Hal Willner) #birdbrain #poetrycommunity #allenginsberg #halwillner #thegluons #denverpunkscene (at Denver, Colorado) https://www.instagram.com/p/CgnFaKGv_Zg/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#birdbrain #poetrycommunity #allenginsberg #halwillner #thegluons #denverpunkscene

[greensparty]

Movie Review - Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song / Thor: Love and Thunder

Got to review two films this week, one from Hollywood and one from Indiewood:

Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song

There have been several documentaries about the late great Leonard Cohen, including 2005′s Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man and 2019′s Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love, but now there’s a different type of doc about Cohen. Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song is about his 1984 song “Hallelujah”. Yes, the entire documentary is about this song!?! But before you wonder how much there is for a feature-length doc, it is very much a doc about Leonard Cohen because to understand the song and its many musical interpretations, you need to understand the singer / songwriter.

movie poster

Since Cohen’s death in 2016 at age 82, I have been lucky enough to review his posthumous Thanks for the Dance. His lyrics, his sound and most of all his amazing voice made him one of the great poets to emerge out of the 60s. I was never an expert on him, but after hearing his song “Everybody Knows” on the Pump Up The Volume soundtrack, he had my attention at a young age. I own his first few albums on vinyl and his double CD The Essential Leonard Cohen has accompanied me on many car trips. I was thrilled when I attended the Leonard Cohen exhibit at the Jewish Museum in NYC in 2019 and my relative cantor Gideon Zelermyer and his choir were featured in one of the multimedia portions (they appeared on Cohen’s final album You Want It Darker). While “Everybody Knows” is very meaningful for Gen-Xers because of Pump Up the Volume, “Hallelujah” might be his most iconic song.

Before directors Daniel Geller and Dayna Goldfine get into the 1984 song that appeared on Cohen’s album Various Positions, they get into his backstory. This does not pretend to be the most comprehensive documentary about Cohen, but it’s also not trying to be either. It is giving the viewer just enough context to understand the song and its release. The album was shelved by his record label in 1984 as they thought it wasn’t good. In the U.S. the album was released on a small indie label and barely made a dent. But over time, it was noteworthy musicians who were impressed with it. Bob Dylan covered the song live in 1988. In 1991, John Cale covered the song for the I’m Your Fan tribute album Hal Willner put together. In 1994, Jeff Buckley recorded a version for his one and only studio album Grace, which is possibly the most loved version of the song. Various other covers happened as well, but it was Cale’s version that appeared in Shrek that introduced it to a whole new audience. Since the 00s, it has become a staple of singing competition shows, where singers use the song to show their vocal range. 

I really dug this doc as it is more comprehensive about the song than it is about the artist. It is a bit long and for non-Cohen fans it might be For Fans Only. There was a point around two-thirds in where I thought the movie had made its final statement and was about to end, but then it kept going for about a half hour about Cohen’s career from the 00s onward and how the song became an important part of his live shows. From an editing standpoint, I felt it could’ve been more effective if they had Cohen’s last fifteen years or so and then showed the final statement about the song as the ending. But it certainly did a lot with the archival footage, interviews and live performance footage!

Sony Picture Classics has released Hallelujah in some markets and it opens in Boston on July 15: https://www.sonyclassics.com/film/hallelujah/

3.5 out of 5 stars

Thor: Love and Thunder

Thor is not exactly my favorite Marvel super hero, but he’s also not my least favorite either. I liked his first movie, 2011′s Thor. It was a good origin story. 2013′s Thor: The Dark World was fine. His appearances in all of the Avenger movies were fine too. But it was 2017′s Thor: Ragnarok from director Taika Waititi had a sense of zaniness to it that made it feel new and fresh. Since that film, Waititi has become the toast of the town, as a director / writer / producer / actor in film and television, including an episode of The Mandalorian. What really blew me away about him was 2019′s Jojo Rabbit, for which he won a well-deserved Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. Waititi balanced so many heavy themes in a creative way in that WWII coming-of-age story. I included it in my Best Movies of the 2010s list. Now Waititi is returning to the MCU with Thor: Love and Thunder.

movie poster

Thor played by Chris Hemsworth has been hanging out with the Guardians of the Galaxy of late. But when his ex Jane Foster (the returning Natalie Portman) comes back as The Mighty Thor, they team up with Team Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) and Korg (voice of Waititi) to defeat Gorr the God Butcher (played by a gaunt and haunting Christian Bale), who has taken the children of Asgard. I’m leaving a lot of stuff out of this plot summary, but trying my best to avoid spoilers too.

With this movie there are plenty of sequences that are over-the-top, zany and kind of ridiculous. The Guns N’ Roses-heavy soundtrack (and the numerous references to the band throughout the film) only add to the over-the-top-ness of the action scenes. The genius in Guardians of the Galaxy is that it is about a team that has to save the universe, but they are sarcastic and it feels like its not taking itself too seriously. In this new Thor film, Waititi is trying to have his cake and eat it too, by being self-aware of how ridiculous it is at times, but being rather serious other times (i.e. one of the characters is dealing with stage four cancer). Sometimes that balance works, other times less so. Waititi is clearly referencing 80s action romances and he’s having a ball at it. It’s the creative moments like a small theater group in Asgard performing the story of Thor for the locals, where Waititi is elevating this to be more than just another MCU movie. The cast including Portman and Bale truly made this more it was on paper too. This is also an audience movie that is best seen on the big screen and with an enthusiastic audience. In the MCU, this is the best Thor movie so far, but it has some catching up to the ranks of Guardians of the Galaxy and the recent Spider-Man movies. 

For info on Thor: Love and Thunder: https://www.marvel.com/movies/thor-love-and-thunder

3.5 out of 5 stars

#hallelujah: leonard cohen a journey a song #daniel geller #dayna goldfine #documentary #Movie Reviews #thor: love and thunder #taika waititi #mcu #film geek

[sweetdreamsjeff]

Amazing Grace: Jeff Buckley

Date: Apr. 4, 2005

Author: Dennis Harvey

(DOCU)

A Once and Future Prods. presentation. Produced by Nyla Bialek Adams, Laurie Trombley. Executive producer, Peter Adams.

Directed by Nyla Bialek Adams, Laurie Trombley. Camera (color/B&W, digiBeta), Adams; editors, Adams, John Neely; music, Jeff Buckley; sound designer (Dolby Digital), Dan Olmstead. Reviewed at Cinequest, San Jose, March 9, 2005. Running time: 62 MIN.

With: Sebastian Bach, David Browne, Chris Cornell, Shane Doyle, David Fricke, Mickey Grondahl, Mary Guibert, Matt Johnson, Parker Kindred, Duncan Sheik, Michael Tighe, Hal Willner, Jimi Zhivago.

Mysteriously drowned at age 30 in 1997, singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley left behind just one completed studio album, the remarkable 1994 "Grace." That was enough to ensure him a still-growing cult audience, as well as more posthumous tie-in sales than any late rock legend since Jimi Hendrix. Electrifying performance footage in "Amazing Grace" underlines the sense that a great talent was lost. But this less-than-definitive docu portrait works overtime abetting his tragic hero mythology, worshipping the artist but omitting insight into the man. That lack could be fixed with expansion of the brief runtime, making specialized theatrical play more likely.

Leaping past Buckley's early years, the pic suggests he sprang fully formed upon moving to NYC in 1990--an impression shared by the loyal following he soon developed at Sin-e and other under-the-radar clubs. His passionate performing style, insinuating songs and extraordinary voice--swooping pitch-perfect from growl to falsetto to Middle Eastern-style ululation--soon attracted a major-label bidding war, then fast assembly of a backing band.

Acclaimed "Grace" release led to an 18-month international tour, after which Buckley ditched the spotlight for Memphis, where he struggled to come up with a satisfying sophomore disc. That effort was cut short by an impromptu river swim from which he never emerged, apparently caught by riptides.

Seen in interview and promo clips, the handsome performer comes off as even younger than his years, somewhat self-consciously striking vague tortured-artist postures he might soon have outgrown. ("I think too much. ... there's too much to know, too much at stake. ... Life is bigger than anything.") His reportedly playful side off-stage is just briefly glimpsed. These affectations are forgotten, however, in the live or live-in-studio sequences where he performs hair-raising versions of his songs and his signature cover, Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah."

Fellow musicians, fans and friends offer plaudits but little insight. Even Buckley's mother, Mary Guibert, speaks of him as if describing a remote, intangible genius, cryptically referring to his occasional "troubled" moments and "dark days." As if the whiff of pretentious obfuscation weren't already apparently enough, pic ends with a quote from Pushkin.

Archival materials are of variable quality, but remain the unquestionable highlight of this competently assembled package.

Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2005 PME Holdings, LLC d/b/a Variety Media LLC

From: Variety (Vol. 398, Issue 7) Type: Movie review

#jeff buckley #amazing grace jeff buckley #2004 #documentary #variety #volume 398 issue 7 #dennis harvey #Youtube

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Allen Ginsberg – “Don’t Grow Old” (Song Premiere)

Today is a great day to share the news that Allen Ginsberg has returned with a new single called “Don’t Grow Old.” The newly reissued double album of The Lion For Real is available starting today. With equal parts spoken word, jazz, rock, and ambient, this beautiful record was originally produced by Hal Willner, and features musicians like Mark Bingham, Bill Frisell, Kramer, Arto Lindsay, Marc Ribot. I was also able to catch up with one of the collaborators, Kramer, for a brief interview below. https://chorus.fm/features/allen-ginsberg-dont-grow-old-song-premiere/

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☝︎ 詳しくはこちらのブログ レコード評議会 をご覧ください。

#レコード

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C427, The Sounds of Tom Waits

C427, The Sounds of Tom Waits

Tom Waits, a singer composer from California, is a mixture of Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen — the former he’s covered and the latter who covered him with “Jersey Girl.” Waits seems to be a likable sort; Hal Willner, a friend of his, had him on his Disney theme, Stay Awake — I’ve highlighted some of his songs for week forecasts, so finally I am doing his chart…it is his birthday. The song I’m…

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#December births #Leo Rising #Lipped Bowl Planetary Pattern #singer composer #Tom Waits

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Album archive

#ALBUM ARCHIVE ARCHIVE#

In archival notes that accompany the release, Fleming and Stern recount their discovery while browsing Reed’s offices, where they found two tapes that featured a 1958 rehearsal of his early band The Jades, several solo acoustic tracks including a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right,” and an unopened, self-addressed envelope with a five-inch reel-to-reel recording that would comprise Words & Music, May 1965.įleming and Stern explain that by notarizing and shipping the package - postmarked Reed had earned a “poor man’s copyright” on his recordings, doubly secured by listing each song with “Words and music by Lou Reed.” The tape features the earliest-known recordings of Velvet Underground staples like “Heroin” and “Pale Blue Eyes” as well as some of the first collaborations with future bandmate John Cale. The initial release, Words & Music, May 1965, is set to arrive on August 26th.Ĭompiled with cooperation from Reed’s longtime partner and electronic music pioneer Laurie Anderson (who also produced Words & Music, May 1965 with Don Fleming, Jason Stern, Hal Willner, and Matt Sullivan), the newly-remastered material pulls from tapes recorded by the fledgling New York singer-songwriter prior to the official formation of The Velvet Underground.

#ALBUM ARCHIVE ARCHIVE#

In the landscape of dark and dour post-punk, it’s nice to have a band stop by, roll down the windows every now and then, and let some sunshine in.An archive series of Lou Reed’s music has been announced by Light in the Attic Records, with many of the late artist’s early demo recordings surfacing for the first time. The punchy front half of songs often morph and settle into extended grooves. For a relatively short album, the individual songs often feel longer in the best way possible. Like “Carshade,” Hanlon on lead vocals is something the band could lean on more.Īrchive Material is a tidy 38 minute grab bag of influences that ultimately adds up to something unique. Hanlon returns on the final track, “I’m Wild,” which wouldn’t sound out of place on a Breeders record (think “Drivin’ on 9”). It’s also maybe the most political of the songs on Archive Material with seemingly obvious references to certain world leaders (“when everything is in Comic Sans/they put you on the news”) and Brexit-type policies (“that boy doesn’t have our work ethic/fuck up your life”). The standout track is “Econymo,” where the roles are reversed and Isaac Brock fronts Television. “Central Tones” adds some Pavement-esque slacker edges and “Nothing to Write Home About” bursts with Parquet Courts energy. “Different Kind of Holiday” delivers some LCD Soundsystem funk, while “Carshade” continues the experimental instrumental break heard on Fad - and something the band could explore more on future releases. The second half is where the band starts to sound more influenced by 90s indie than NYC art rock, and where Silverbacks start to expand their sound into something truly exciting. It also completes a killer three song start to the album and contains another musical reference to discerning listeners: “Hanging out on a single thread/Bronze plate and a talking head/And I'm your hero.” It’s something that helps Silverbacks stand out from the current crowd of post-punk bands dominating the news. “Wear My Medals” is the first of two songs to feature bassist Emma Hanlon on lead vocals. Follow up single “A Job Worth Doing” sounds like Tom Verlaine fronting Modest Mouse. Right out of the gate, lead track “Archive Material” drops in some French ala “Psycho Killer” over Television guitars before transitioning into a world beat more reminiscent of solo David Byrne. Two years later, the band takes a King Kong-sized leap forward on their follow-up album, Archive Material, by going further backwards in music history - adding more Television and Talking Heads vibes. Threatened to get lost in the gloomy sounds of their peers is Dublin-based Silverbacks, whose 2020 debut Fad hinted more at The Strokes than Joy Division. The current crop of post-punk leaning bands include The Murder Capitol, Gilla Band, and Fontaines D.C. By Jeremy Bennett ( the the past five years there has been a resurgence of Irish music not seen since the 1990s, when The Cranberries, The Corrs, Sinead O’ Connor, My Bloody Valentine, and U2 were gracing the covers of NME and ripping up pictures of pontiffs on TV.

#Album archive