Xeno-blog

The Cramps - What's Inside a Girl?

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 12:09:00 +0000

this is a live performance by a great band. I first heard their cover of "Psychotic Reaction" back in about 1984, thanks to a pen pal. and I had heard of the album "A Date with Elvis" before that, but only because of an unnamed song about a dog and a cat. it was never released in this country until the CD came out.

so this is the live performance, which is also great. one of the best things about the Cramps is they didn't use a lot of studio tricks to make themselves sound better. they just played the way they played. so many bands change the way they sound to get a hit or use a producer and studio musicians to "help" out, it seems false advertising to me.

Rogues of Sherwood Forest (1950)

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 07:55:00 +0000

Prince John has returned to England after Richard the Lionheart's death and is king now. he's trying to get revenge on Robin Hood, which means his son. there's a lot of daring do to be seen, and King John starts raising taxes and torturing his subjects. this starts to rile the barons and Robin rounds up the old Merrie Men to stop King John before things get rotten (sorry).

this is a fun sequel/remake, if not up to the standards of the wonderful original. and what are the odds of this Robin falling for a ward of the court named "Marianne"?

Robin, Jr is played by John Derek, who is quite good in the role, though can't measure up to Errol Flynn, of course. another fun thing is the late Alan Hale, Sr. in his third movie as Little John. he was in the silent version and Flynn's movie and now this one, which was his last film. his son was in several other swashbucklers as well later on.

this was available on DVD from Alpha, and it's a pretty nice looking print, as these pictures attest. it's a very enjoyable way to spend 80 minutes.

Aqauabats - Nerd Alert

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 12:30:00 +0000

I love this band. this is a fan made video, but it's so much fun I think (and hope) the band would really love it. they sure understand nerds...

their songs are really fun, especially off the "Charge" album, which they shifted from more ska sound to regular (sorta) rock. I still have to see them in concert.

Ghost Rider (2007)

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 03:00:00 +0000

I have now seen both versions of this movie, the theatrical one and the extended edition.

I really enjoyed it. so many people hated it- well, comic book fans, it seems, but I thought it was just like the 70s comic book (with a little of the lame 90s version thrown in). it was dramatic and cornball all at the same time, with awkward lines and and some decent acting thrown in as well.

but it was straightforward in it's approach and I liked that. I also liked Sam Elliott as Carter Slade, the original Ghost Rider. it was a nice reference for us people who knew of the Western (non-spiritual) hero who had the name in the first place.

so I don't know what all the hate is about for this movie.

The Eagles - Already Gone

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 23:57:00 +0000

good thing these guys made great music, cause they sure aren't the most exciting band to watch live. sue me, I like a spectacle with my music performances.

this was after Don Felder joined the band, I think. he added a harder edge to their sound. the Eagles had a lot of member changes during their original run. which is more common than I had thought.

Abba - Take A Chance On Me

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 02:45:00 +0000

here's a video I've never seen, for a band that was everywhere in the 1970s. I used to roller skate to this song, way back when, and it's still one of my favorite ABBA songs.

these were called "promotional movies" back in the 70s, and many bands were doing them. KISS did a couple for their second or third album, mostly just concert footage. there were a few that tried to tell a story as well, but you'll have to find those. I don't miss the 70s haircuts, that's for sure.

Adam and the Ants - Prince Charming

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 12:30:00 +0000

had to change the title, since this was when it was "and the Ants" as he still had a band at this point in his career. he sacked them after a live concert appearance. thought the band didn't give it their all.

this is from the second album, with the same title. there's a lot of costume changes in this one, with Adam appearing as the Man with No Name and Alice Cooper. hadn't noticed that before. fun song, once I've liked more as I got older. my interest in Adam waned when he lost the drum sound that so identified him in those early years.

exclusive interview with Blue Oyster Cult

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 23:37:00 +0000

well, one member of the group, anyway.

I've had this magazine for almost thirty years, and I don't think I ever read most of the article. it's not like I hated the bands they were talking about, they were just kind of... there. I bought it for the piece one the Plasmatics (the same reason I bought my first issue of CREEM as well) and the other stuff was just kind of... there. I bought many issues of CREEM after 1982, but Hit Parader was never as much fun. treated the artists too well, I think, with no sense of humor.
now I'm glad I have it. things were a lot different back then, and it's interesting to see who were going to be "stars" and who actually did become big hit makers. Rose Tattoo and Chilliwack never quite made it to the big time, and many of the one on the cover just slowly faded away. which is pretty typical in the music business.

I think Grace Jones is the only artist of color in the entire magazine at this point though.

anyway, Mr. Owari gets another post! I think I should start tagging him...

Elvis Presley - Jailhouse Rock

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 18:18:00 +0000

this is the Elvis that I really like, that early one. he's so ubiquitous that one forgets just how good he was. there's really not that much more to say about it at all, is there?

oddly enough, I've only ever seen a few of his movies, as they all seem like merely vehicles for him to sing in, as opposed to actual good stories. and yes, I know, that was the point, but I think Elvis himself would have liked to be in better movies. they aren't bad, but they aren't great.

U2- Gloria

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 12:00:00 +0000

I'm so used to this version of the song that I add the live bits in when I listen to the studio version. I bought the album "Under a Blood Red Sky" which had the images of Red Rocks (where this video was taped) but it only had two cuts from the Red Rocks show. kind of annoying at the time. why? I was at this show, and I wanted the entire show on vinyl, or at least all 8 songs.

fortunately the DVD has now been released, complete except for one song ("I Fall Down" in which the camera malfunctioned). you can pause it in some scenes and see old classmates of mine in the front row. my friends and I were farther up. I can hardly believe it's been almost 30 years since this show on June 5th, 1983. cost me a whole $10 to see the show back then.

Trekkies (1997)

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

is it me, or do many documentaries not know exactly how to end? just a question, as many I've seen tend to wander around for a bit at the end.

the other big question that doesn't get answered here is who is the best captain? I still can't believe anyone would vote for Janeway.

I saw this doc several years ago, and enjoyed it. it spawned a small cottage industry of similar docs about Star Wars, Dungeons and Dragons and the like. none of the ones I saw were as good as this one.

this is hosted by Denise Crosby who was in a season of The Next Generation and then an ill-conceived two parter later on. she's funny and respectful and always warm when talking to various fans, some of which make the mind wobble. there's a fine line between fan and fanatic, and this doc shows where some cross the line.

none of the interviewees are treated poorly- the director just lets them talk and be themselves and lets us viewers decide. there are some fans I think I'd like to talk to and some that just go way out into the field and I'd rather smile at them and not engage.

I've not seen the sequel, which was made in 2002. now it's ten years old, and I wonder how people feel about the show now, with a lame remake movie out.

Blue Oyster Cult- Burnin' For You

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 18:00:00 +0000

I'm not the huge fan of BOC that my pal Chris is (wow, two posts in a row mentioning him, what'd he do to deserve that? poor guy) but I do like a lot of their songs. singing about Godzilla will do that. they sang about all sorts of cool stuff, and always had a bit of a sense of humor about it as well.

this was their second really big hit, from sometime in the early 80s. as much as I love "Godzilla" it was never a huge chart hit for the band. this one was. and the band was smart enough to get some of the more gullible religious types to think they were satanic, thus getting even more kids to listen to the song.

ESP for metal dudes!

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 06:35:00 +0000

from the April 1983 issue of "Hit Parader" magazine.

this sort of thing is closer to my pal Chris' sense of humor, but this was too good for me to pass up. it's even funnier that it's in what later turned into a "heavy metal" magazine. at this point it was a fair mix of music, but not as much fun as CREEM magazine (no wonderful captions on these photos, more like a quote from the article).

they also had lyrics for songs in the back, and I've only heard about half of them.

however...

the big news is getting any girl with psychic mind control within five minutes! talk about appealing to horny teenage boys. I wonder how many actually sent $11 to this place to get this astounding secret of mind control. how would you explain that to your parents when it arrived in the mail?

somehow it's funnier than creepy, though it borders on "how could anyone believe this could work?" status. hey, there's a money back guarentee!

for the record, I didn't waste my $11.

The Epoxies - "Synthesized"

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 00:22:00 +0000

I love me some Epoxies, and wish I had discovered them much sooner than I did. I've written about them before, but that was a fan made video. this is a real one, I think.

I love the sound they make. they didn't have high tech equipment and they sound awesome. and it's "new" music, from 2005, for those who think I hate all new stuff. yes, I know, it sounds like it's from 1983, but hey, that's not my fault!

KISS - The Oath

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 12:34:00 +0000

I can't believe it's taken me this long to post an actual KISS video. well, sort of. we did have a cover by The Donnas. this is a live performance from the TV show Fridays. pretty much the only live stuff from the cool album "The Elder" out there, as they didn't tour for it. last I heard this record was the only KISS album to never make it to platinum status. sad, as it's quite good.

this version has an extended solo, which is sadly missing from the album. the band's costumes are unusual, as they kind of went for a more "modern" look. styles come and go in waves, and in 1981, with the "new music" hitting KISS was started to be considered passe by some people. recording a concept album... that was one odd decision. they had thoughts of making it into a movie, but the poor sales slammed the door on that.

Five Superfighters (1979)

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 04:46:00 +0000

I'm going with the 1979 date, though three places I've looked all have different release years for this movie- 1978, 1979 and 1983. the month and day is the same.

this jerk goes around from town to town "teaching" kung fu practitioners how to "improve" their techniques. he's really good, but that's his only reason.

after our heroes and their teacher gets beaten, the three students set out to find better teachers so they can get revenge. this involves a lot of training sequences, which are sometimes fun, but you just don't really care about any of them. mostly we are just waiting to see the villain get his comeuppance.

of course their teachers all help, and even their original teacher improves. still, I'm not sure what the lesson is here.

mostly it's an excuse to combine drunken style and monkey style in one movie, which makes me think it's the Shaw response to "Drunken Master", as it's also somewhat comedic. Mar Lo directed the movie, so it's not as bloody as some Shaws, nor as well choreographed as some others. it's interesting in that regard, as it doesn't look like a Chang Cheh or Lau Ka-Leung movie. the main fault is the story, in that it's not well fleshed out.

of course, I don't care for monkey style kung fu at all, so that doesn't help on a personal level. but it's a good way to spend 94 minutes or so.

Cheap Trick - Surrender (Live)

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 08:49:00 +0000

Cheap Trick is quite the unusual band. very unique musically and visually they made some great songs, and then they made some not great songs. I never knew much about them, other than they got famous in Japan first.

I appreciate them a lot more these days than I did back then, especially after hearing more of their songs, other than the hits (and mostly other than "I Want You to Want Me"). here's one of the better songs, one I love because it's good and it mentions KISS in it.

Icehouse - We Can Get Together

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 12:50:00 +0000

one of the many videos I enjoyed on Channel 12's "FM-TV" when it first was airing. there was just nothing that sounded like this on the radio at the time. nor was eMpTV playing it, at least not when I was watching (and in 1983, who wasn't watching music videos?).

Icehouse was an Australian band called "Flowers" at first, but due to the success of the song called "Icehouse" they took that name. later it became a vehicle for frontman Iva Davies, and he had some big success in the US in the late 80s. I like all their incarnations, though I do prefer this first album.

Nancy Sinatra ~ These Boots Are Made For Walkin'

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:37:00 +0000

wow, there's a ton of versions of this song on youtube. a lot by Nancy, and then there's covers and mashups as well. I knew it was a popular song, but had no idea I'd see that many different takes on a classic song.

this is from an appearance in Italy, and it's the best one by far- Nancy is singing live, which is a plus to some of the sillier lip-synced versions out there (that she's not surrounded by giant boots helps). I mean, really, we get that boots are in the song, but that's not really what the song is about.

J. Geils Band - Love Stinks

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:07:00 +0000

another overnight success story that took years to achieve, and then it was over in a flash. seems like some bands can't handle stardom as well as others. I remember hearing "Love Stinks" in the summer of 1980 and had no idea who the J. Geils Band was. couldn't go to wiki and click on it and find out. heck, I thought the lead singer was J! they had been playing for over 10 years by the time they got such huge national exposure.

it was kind of a bummer that he wasn't, but when I read (probably in Creem Magazine) the reasons behind the name of the band, I got over it. I really wanted to see them live, especially after hearing about the amazing chair trick.

a fandom by any other name...

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 06:26:00 +0000

odd things occur when to me when I am working on occasion.

take this- ever notice how some genre fandoms get easily identifiable nick names? you know, like "Trekkies" or "Whovians" or... uh... well, Big Bang Theory has fans called "Bangers" now. are Lord of the Rings fans called "Ringers"? I'll cover comedy shows in a bit, but dang I'm drawing a blank here.

help me out here. do Xena fans or Buffy Fans or Simpsons' fans have those sort of names? are South Park fans called "Parkers"? how about fans of the Japanese hero Ultraman? I find it odd that there seem to be so few of these shows that inspire these names.

it's even less with dramatic shows, it seems. I think it would be funny to call fans of "24" "Daywalkers" but that probably won't go over well at all. what would you call fans of "Mission: Impossible"? I'd think "Lost" would have a fandom, as it seems to be the type of show that would inspire it.

comedy shows don't really have such names either, though "Big Bang" does have one. perhaps they have to have some genre connection? I mean, does "Friends" have a fanbase called "Friendlies"? I gotta admit I think "Smarties" would be a fun name for Get Smart.

so let's have a contest- think of the funniest or cleverest names for some shows. let's not do music or movies at this time.

The Beatles - Twist And Shout

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:21:00 +0000

one of the "early" (and best) Beatles signatures tunes, and one they didn't even write. they sure made it their own, though. there's really not much more I could ever add about the Beatles that would be insightful, so I'll just leave it be.

I'm still amazed anyone thought their hair was long though.

Ringo Star - No No Song

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:30:00 +0000

I saw this song performed on some variety show (maybe this very one) but I forgot about it for many years, til hearing a Ringo Starr greatest hits tape (which contains a lot of cool songs). of course, Ringo was still saying "yes yes yes" for several more years, but he seems to be pretty clean now. I sure had no idea what the song was about at the time.

it's a fun song, and pretty true. also fun is Tom and Dick Smothers singing backup, and the end of the song with the audience participation. gotta love those 70s threads (not). Ringo looks good though. he always struck me as the fun Beatle.

Joan Jett - Bad Reputation

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 12:30:00 +0000

here's Joan Jett's signature song (well, the one she wrote, anyway). this was made after "I Love Rock n Roll" was a hit. her backing band was studio musicians on the first album, as opposed to the Blackhearts in the video.

this was censored on eMpTV back in the day, since Joan flipped the bird in the song. what a reason. it's a pretty self explanatory video, but she was considered a non-seller and had to release the first album herself, selling it out of vans after the shows they put on. so many record companies turned her down. lame.

The Donnas - Strutter

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 12:30:00 +0000

The Donnas have been compared to both the Ramones and the Runaways. I find that they are harder rock than the Ramones, and the Runaways moved from hard rock to a more punky sound, whereas the Donnas moved in the other direction. their harder edge sounds better on them, I think.

they've also covered a lot of songs, and mostly pretty straight- just women singing "Livin' After Midnight" or "Wig Wam Bam". here we have them doing "Strutter" very well, though almost note for note like KISS. it was done for some lame movie I've never seen. there is just something about women wearing KISS makeup though. it's hot.