Man, I wanna see this!

It might stink. But it's gotta be great.

Fridays With Frank (Zappa) #2

The Mothers Of Invention at The Whiskey A Go-Go (on the fabulous Sunset Strip) in 1966. Note the copy of Freak Out! on the table.

What could they be twisting and frug-ing to? "Help, I'm A Rock?"

As you ponder such questions, dig this interview with Frank from 1968.

More Geeking Out About DVDs.

Recently, to announce the new Warner Archive program, the folks in charge of Warner Home Video's back catalog did a web chat deal with the Home Theater Forum. You can read the whole thing here. But the stuff I thought was interesting is as follows:

There will be more Joel McCrea movies coming out, including Colorado Territory (one of the best Westerns ever). Wichita is part of the first wave of titles. Mine arrived yesterday. Good movie, nice DVD. Also, Trail Street with Randolph Scott is on its way.

My all-time favorite film, Where Eagles Dare (1969), should receive a Blu-Ray release next year. I swore I wouldn't make the move to Blu-Ray (or a big fat TV) till that film came out, so I guess I'll be officially wanting to upgrade before too long.

Ed Roth.

Who says it takes a big car to be cool?

Fridays With Frank (Zappa) #1

I've been on a Frank Zappa binge lately, focused mainly around the Verve/Mothers years.

He is certainly missed. So I thought I'd dedicate every Friday for a while to Mr. Zappa.

Since I've recently figured out how to stick videos on this thing, here's a clip from one of the last episodes of The Monkees. Frank appears in this pre-credits segment only. The "You're a popular musician, I'm dirty, gross and ugly" line cracks me up every time.

The tune you hear, as Frank hits the car with a sledgehammer, is "Mother People."

Yes, There Is A Devil. And He's In The Movie Business. (Or, The Three Stooges Of The Apocalypse.)

MGM gets its 'Stooges'
Penn, Carrey, Del Toro part of studio's plan

By Michael Fleming, from Variety


MGM and the Farrelly brothers are closing in on their cast for "The Three Stooges."

Studio has set Sean Penn to play Larry, and negotiations are underway with Jim Carrey to play Curly, with the actor already making plans to gain 40 pounds to approximate the physical dimensions of Jerome "Curly" Howard.

The studio is zeroing in on Benicio Del Toro to play Moe.

The film is not a biopic, but rather a comedy built around the antics of the three characters that Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Howard played in the Columbia Pictures shorts.

The quest by the Peter and Bobby Farrelly to harness the project spans more than a decade and three studios. They first tried at Columbia, again at Warner Bros., and finally at MGM, where Worldwide Motion Picture Group chairman Mary Parent championed the cause and bought the WB-owned scripts and made a deal with Stooges rights holders C3.

Production will begin in early fall for a release sometime in 2010. The Farrellys, who wrote the script, are producing with their Conundrum partner Bradley Thomas, and Charlie Wessler.

C3 Entertainment principals Earl and Robert Benjamin will be executive producers.

Project will get underway after Penn completes the Asger Leth-directed Universal/Imagine Entertainment drama "Cartel." He hasn't done a comedy since the 1989 laffer "We're No Angels."

The Farrellys have long had their eyes on Del Toro to play Moe. Del Toro, who's coming off "Che," showed comic chops in the Guy Ritchie-directed "Snatch."

The surprise is the emergence of Carrey to play Curly. Howard established the character as a seminal physical comedian, from the first time he appeared in the first Stooges short in 1934 until he suffered a stroke on the set in 1946.

Coop, I'm sorry about sullying your illustration. But it seemed so devilish and Hollywood-y.

The Tormentos: "Dragstrip Night"

The Tormentos are a surf band from Argentina. They've taken the baton from the short-lived US surf resurgence of the Nineties and run with it. More power to 'em.

This video is boss. Especially the footage lifted from Bikini Beach and Endless Summer. It seems to really capture the whole vibe of modern-day surf/hot rod music.

My daughter asked what a Tormento is. "Is it like a tomato?"

Now where do we find their CDs here in the States?

Geek Alert! The Warner Archive.

My wife just brought this to my attention. Warner Brothers has started a made-to-order DVD program, The Warner Archive, where all sorts of cool stuff can be yours — stuff the general populace has little or no interest in.

The list of titles (the initial listing is 150 films) is pretty impressive. Darby's Rangers. Westbound with Randolph Scott, directed by Budd Boetticher. Doc Savage. Wichita with Joel McCrea directed by Jacques Tourneur. And more.

All are in their proper aspect ratio. Wichita, for instance, has its CinemaScope all 16x9'd.

People, this is a good thing.

And for a limited time, the discount code XB392 will get you 25% off. Basic shipping's free these days, too.

Every Spring, all the Bugs come out.

Necessity Is The Mother Of Invention.

But what kind of necessity lead to this?

Cleans & Thrills You!

I don't know why this strikes me as funny, or as brilliant, but I love the fact that some of the greatest Rock N Roll albums of all time were sold through comic books!

Imagine scooping a couple bucks out of your piggy bank, handing it your mom and asking her to write a check to United Mutations for something called Freak Out! by Frank Zappa and The Mothers.

It's stuff like this that makes me proud to be a Capitalist Swine.

Fired up my Marantz last night.

Now I'm in a vintage stereo mood.

Happy Birthday, Kid!

One Adam-12, One Adam-12, Happy Birthday in progress...

Crap, I missed it (by 53 years)!

Thought For The Day: John Milius.

"There's no shame in the world, and without shame, you cannot have honor. Our world is ruled by consensus now. There is no sense of honor."

After.

Today, Jennifer had her head shaved (by her sister Amy) at a local St. Baldrick's event to raise money for children's cancer research.

We both lost our moms to cancer. Fact is, Jennifer's mom was buried on this day nine years ago. This was something Jennifer felt she needed to do, and she's been growing her hair for the last two years in preparation. Her hair will go to make wigs for children who've lost their hair for some medical reason.

The last I saw, today's event had taken in over $105,000, but the final tally won't come for a day or two. About $1,800 of that is what Jennifer raised, courtesy of our friends, co-workers and family. We know a lot of good people.

I've never been more proud of her. And she's never looked more pretty.

Gentlemen, start your trimmers!

Wedding Anniversary #11-B.

Or maybe it counts as our 22nd. Either way, we had so much fun getting married on February 23, 1998, that we did it again on March 1. The place: the front seat of our rental car — a blue Mercury Sable — in the Little White Chapel's Tunnel Of Vows, a drive-thru wedding chapel.

Perfectly Frank (Frazetta)

For months, I've had this folder full of jpegs on my desktop that says "Gauntlet." Here's some of the stuff that's in it.

Clint Eastwood and Sondra Locke meeting with the great Frank Frazetta in 1977, in preparation for Frank's poster art for The Gauntlet.

An early sketch.

Another work in progress.

The finished art, before all the type was added.

Here's the half-sheet. It remains one of my favorite movie posters, perfectly matching the over-the-top majesty of the film itself. (I got much of this stuff here. Frazetta's art for The Fearless Vampire Killers is great, too.)

This art would also grace the LP of Jerry Fielding's terrific jazzy score.

The video tape and standard DVD of The Gauntlet used an alternate ad campaign. For the recent Blu-Ray DVD, they went with Frazetta's artwork. That's not the kind of restoration you typically think of with movies showing up on DVD, but I'm sure thankful for it in this case.

Here's a screen grab from that Blu-Ray DVD. Click it to see it larger. "This is my gun, Clyde"

(Un)Changing All Those Changes.

Buddy Holly is one of the greatest humans to ever walk our planet.

Now that we're all in agreement on that, there's the matter of this CD, Down The Line: Rarities. It just came out a month or so ago, creepily timed to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Buddy's death. It's a great great thing — Jennifer got it for me as an anniversary present.

For starters, there's "My Two-Timin' Woman," recorded when he was 13. Not great, but certainly interesting.

There's the "garage tapes" from late 1956. There's some session outtakes and stuff. And then there's the Apartment Tapes, recorded by Buddy in his New York apartment just a couple months before his death. All of these would be drug out, overdubbed and thrown onto the market well into the 60s.

Here, we get the unadorned, undubbed versions. And in my opinion, that's the way you want 'em.

It's hard to believe that classics like "Peggy Sue Got Married" were nothing more than demos when Buddy last touched them. Knowing he'd soon be gone, hearing him messing around at home with his new bride and coming up with new songs is a little hard to take. But it's great stuff.

A lot of this was available in the The Complete Buddy Holly vinyl set back in the late 70s. And most of this material has been heavily bootlegged for all us Buddy Holly nuts out there. But it's good to have them officially released again — they sound great — and it seems to mean that MCA and Maria Elena Holley have made amends. (There's also the new Memorial Collection, a pretty thorough best-of package.)

But I'm still waiting for the big fat massive boxed set of everything.

That'll be the day.

Hidden Love For Peter Case.

I've been a fan of Peter Case for what seems like forever. Maybe it was "A Million Miles Away." Who knows.

He wrote on his blog:
On January 15 I underwent emergency open heart surgery, at a hospital in Santa Monica. The surgery was successful, but I am now on a long program of recovery. In other words, I'm glad to be alive, but it really kicked my ass.

Like so many working musicians, he had no medical insurance. So he's got some big fat bills coming his way. Some of his friends have organized Hidden Love Medical Relief. They describe it thus-ly:
Hidden Love Medical Relief is an effort by Peter’s friends, fans and fellow artists to help alleviate the burden of these mounting medical bills so that Peter can recover, get back and focus on what he does best – writing and performing his songs. No one involved with Hidden Love is going to make money on this endeavor. That's not the point. All money raised through this effort and the Hidden Love Benefit Concert will be applied to Peter’s medical expenses.

That link-y thing will take you to the site. Give one of Peter's records a listen, and you'll realize you really should give generously.

11 Years And Counting.

It's been around 4,000 days since February 23, 1998 (at 6pm Vegas time).

Hello, Dummy.

What a night! Hit Don The Beachcomber for some Cantonese food and a Mai Tai or two or twelve, then slide over to the Casbah Theatre for Mr. Warmth.

Back in February of '98, we saw Tom Jones at the MGM Grand. Again, what a night.

And a bonus: Fremont again, by night.

Way Way Gone.

Built alongside the Stardust, opening in 1960, was the Aku Aku Polynesian Restaurant. A giant tiki head stood outside the A-frame building. It was closed in 1985 to make room for more gaming expansion.

Behind the Stardust was a drive-in theater which was bought by the casino and renamed the Stardust Drive-in.

Of course, none of this stuff exists anymore.

Fremont, The Non-Experience.

First, standing near the Coin Castle, looking at the Plaza. While Hurricane Fran was tearing the crap out of my neighborhood in Raleigh, I was staying at the Plaza. Had a great patty melt at the Golden Gate.


Next, from the Plaza, looking down (or is it up?) Fremont. This was long before the Fremont Experience light show thing went in. One of the side streets has a great menswear store that sells Sansabelt pants. Sure hope they're still there.

By the time of our wedding, in '98, the Fremont Experience was in full swing. (It was completed in 1995, I think.) There was a man with a paper towel hanging out of his nose walking up and down. Nosebleed maybe?

The Green Shack.

We ate here in February, 1998. It closed in 1999 and was demolished a few years later.

At the time, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

It was the oldest restaurant in Las Vegas, once known as The Swanky Club.

Fabulous Las Vegas!

The fabulous Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign was designed by Betty Willis in 1959.

It has been moved a few times as the Strip has grown.

The design was never copyrighted, which is why it's been plastered on so many souvenirs — and why it's become such an icon.

Old Vegas

My wife and I are coming up on our 11th anniversary — on the 23rd. We got married in Vegas, so Sin City always comes to mind this time of year.


For the next few days, to commemorate this whole deal, I'll be sticking some Vegas-y stuff, all vintage, on here.

Two of my favorite things

The Beatles (in this case, George) and James Bond — circa 1965.

The Who, Charlotte 1971

A friend of a friend shot this, The Who in their prime from the Who's Next tour.

November 20, 1971
Charlotte Coliseum
Charlotte, NC

Setlist:
I Can't Explain
Summertime Blues
My Wife
Baba O'Riley
Bargain
Behind Blue Eyes
Won't Get Fooled Again
Baby Don't You Do It
Magic Bus
Overture
Amazing Journey
Sparks
Pinball Wizard
See Me Feel Me
My Generation
Naked Eye

A trip to The Who Concert Guide provided all the details.

What an egg-cellent idea!

Here's the great Vincent Price as Egghead from the Batman TV series. It's stuck here in honor of my wife and the fact that she's shaving her head to help raise money for children's cancer research.

Now, here's a shameless plug. The St. Baldricks event is here in Raleigh on March 7. If you'd like to donate (and we'd really appreciate it if you did), you can do it here.

She's also donating her hair to one of those charities that makes wigs for kids who've lost their hair to cancer or some other health issue.

We're really egg-cited.

Hello Kitty Meets The Atlanta Braves

Time for some more Batman TV show stuff.

Found this great shot on a blog out there — and stole it.

Will everyone out there please say a prayer that the Batman TV show comes out on DVD?

Thank you, The Management

Ron Asheton, 1948-2009

I bought my copy of the Fun House LP at The Finest Record Store in Fort Collins, Colorado, just across the street from Colorado State. I lived in Greeley, half an hour away, and I can still see that record sitting in the passenger seat of my VW Rabbit on the drove home.

I was very familiar with Iggy's solo stuff and the first Stooges record, but this one was totally new to me. God, that cover! It was a really scary thing, just daring me to drive home and plop it on the turntable.

Fourteen thousand plays later — after the vinyl, the CD, the boxed set and the remastered CD — it's still a really scary thing. And a big fat contender for the single greatest Rock N Roll record every made. Right up there with Rubber Soul and Pet Sounds.

And still, no other guitar, on no other record, sounds like that.

"Cattle beware of snipers"*

Started out listening to Fun House by The Stooges this morning, with the mighty Ron Asheton on my mind. I really wasn't up to that one, so for some reason I drug out Back To The Egg by Paul McCartney & Wings. I really dug this record when it came out, adding a little edge to the usual Wings thing. Sounds to me like Paul had picked up a copy of Never Mind The Bullocks after cranking out London Town.

Then, to add to the whole deal, I checked out a bootleg of the very last Wings show from Scotland in December of 1979, when they were touring for Back To The Egg. (It's called Last Flight and it's on Vigotone.) The band's next stop was gonna be Japan, of course, but Paul's suitcase took care of that. And that was the end of Wings.

This was the first Beatlesque record I bought new as a full-fledged, card-carrying Beatle geek. Got it the day it came out and played in constantly for weeks and weeks. No wonder it casts such a large shadow across my turntable. Anyway, over lunch, I thought I'd write something intelligent about this record, urging people to drag it out of their vinyl stash and give it another listen. It got slammed back in '79, but I feel it's really underrated — and probably my personal favorite McCartney record end-to-end.

But I found this great article/reappraisal on The Beachwood Reporter site. They take a very informed, yet smartass approach to the record, saving me the trouble.

And I'm still just sick about Ron Asheton.

* That's a line from "Getting Closer."

One Adam Twelve... One Adam Twelve...