This is wonderful--Johnny Cash on his show featuring Derek and the Dominos and bringing on Carl Perkins for the three of them to do "Matchbox." I still don't recognize Eric Clapton no matter how hard I look at him. He looks like he grew three inches and lost a hundred pounds. It's a joy to see Carl Perkins let loose on guitar. But I can't get over the way they all look like they're wearing hair pieces even if only one of them is.
The film is, above all, an entertainment. It is NOT a documentary. Time and events are collapsed, combined, twisted, characters are created out of whole cloth. But the story works and the spirit of Dylan and his journey from complete unknown to artistic colossus is all there.
As always, the Ask Greil is an enjoyable must read. Ironic that people complain about honoring Jim Morrison's grave when the gravesite itself is littered with graffiti and ephemera. I guess that's out of some sort of affection for his memory, but it looks like garbage to me. Maybe he would have approved however. As for Dick Shawn channeling Jim in The Producers, no. That movie was filmed in '66 and The Doors hadn't released their first album yet. Maybe he's Barry McGuire?
Also, looking forward to the Dylan bio-pic, but would prefer an entire documentary of D.A. Pennebaker's '66 footage, some of which we see in Scorsese's No Direction Home. There's a great, funny movie there and to paraphrase Greil's Mystery Train comment 'no one would believe it.' Yet it all happened and to paraphrase Dylan 'something is happening/but you don't know what it is.' The first line is the title of the unreleased doc mentioned in MT that Greil saw years ago.
As for Trump flags still a-waving, the reckoning will be upon us soon. We will all suffer from the chaos, budget cuts, and perhaps terrorism from within Trump's administration and greater society. Yet, somehow Trump himself will emerge unscathed and the blame will be placed elsewhere. MAGA needs to be cauterized from our collective body politic and it will be painful. If they cut social programs that have long stood the test of time, like social security and medicare, we will see a blue wave starting in '26 that will rival FDR's era. That's if the Dems can hammer MAGA from the time it starts until Trump and his followers are (metaphorically) beaten to a bloody pulp!
Speaking of Willie Mays and autographs, in 1988 Willie was touring in support of his autobiography, and he was doing a book signing. He’s signing books, and I’m pretty sure he’s been watching this huge pile of books going down, 15 more, 10 more, 5 more, hands sore but relief coming, and more people start getting in line with other things to be signed, and Willie just gets up and walks out.
Regarding Jim Morrison, I was watching The Producers again recently, and I realized that when Dick Shawn was portraying L.S.D. ("That’s our Hitler!”) he was doing Jim Morrison. Did you take notice of that when the movie first came out?
This might be a stretch. I think Trump's ability to hypnotize the American electorate might have parallels with Hitler and the Norse god Wotan. Wotan had polarities within the mythology. Add evangelical Christianism to the mix and then you have a strange dangerous brew.
I saw a screening at the Writers Guild of America last weekend. I was leery. Very leery. All in my party are huge Dylan freaks. We all, across the board, LOVED the movie. It's very good. Bob was on the phone with the writer many times about the script. We all thought it was a huge success.
From what I've seen of Tim C.'s (I'm not spelling the whole thing out, either) Dylan portrayal in the previews and ads, I'm not optimistic. I'll be there, too, but as Bob Dylan, my favorite will always be Tilda Swinton in "I'm Not There."
Indeed I did, Ben Merliss, and I edited it as soon as I saw it. But people were very kind about the error, and apparently, others have similar brain freezes.
I think I commented before that I visited Jim Morrison's grave with my family on a recent July 3 - the anniversary of his death. There were many more police mulling around than visitors. And those that I saw were our age or older. I saw a larger, more varied, group of visitors at Edith Piaf's grave that day. My then 18-year-old daughter spent more of her time at Cimetière du Père-Lachaise looking for Georges Melies and Chopin.
This was in my Twitter feed this AM.
https://youtu.be/nbQ283J_NkQ?si=9vtx2PluMOuHltvJ
This is wonderful--Johnny Cash on his show featuring Derek and the Dominos and bringing on Carl Perkins for the three of them to do "Matchbox." I still don't recognize Eric Clapton no matter how hard I look at him. He looks like he grew three inches and lost a hundred pounds. It's a joy to see Carl Perkins let loose on guitar. But I can't get over the way they all look like they're wearing hair pieces even if only one of them is.
Haha! Right?
The film is, above all, an entertainment. It is NOT a documentary. Time and events are collapsed, combined, twisted, characters are created out of whole cloth. But the story works and the spirit of Dylan and his journey from complete unknown to artistic colossus is all there.
As always, the Ask Greil is an enjoyable must read. Ironic that people complain about honoring Jim Morrison's grave when the gravesite itself is littered with graffiti and ephemera. I guess that's out of some sort of affection for his memory, but it looks like garbage to me. Maybe he would have approved however. As for Dick Shawn channeling Jim in The Producers, no. That movie was filmed in '66 and The Doors hadn't released their first album yet. Maybe he's Barry McGuire?
Also, looking forward to the Dylan bio-pic, but would prefer an entire documentary of D.A. Pennebaker's '66 footage, some of which we see in Scorsese's No Direction Home. There's a great, funny movie there and to paraphrase Greil's Mystery Train comment 'no one would believe it.' Yet it all happened and to paraphrase Dylan 'something is happening/but you don't know what it is.' The first line is the title of the unreleased doc mentioned in MT that Greil saw years ago.
As for Trump flags still a-waving, the reckoning will be upon us soon. We will all suffer from the chaos, budget cuts, and perhaps terrorism from within Trump's administration and greater society. Yet, somehow Trump himself will emerge unscathed and the blame will be placed elsewhere. MAGA needs to be cauterized from our collective body politic and it will be painful. If they cut social programs that have long stood the test of time, like social security and medicare, we will see a blue wave starting in '26 that will rival FDR's era. That's if the Dems can hammer MAGA from the time it starts until Trump and his followers are (metaphorically) beaten to a bloody pulp!
Speaking of Willie Mays and autographs, in 1988 Willie was touring in support of his autobiography, and he was doing a book signing. He’s signing books, and I’m pretty sure he’s been watching this huge pile of books going down, 15 more, 10 more, 5 more, hands sore but relief coming, and more people start getting in line with other things to be signed, and Willie just gets up and walks out.
Regarding Jim Morrison, I was watching The Producers again recently, and I realized that when Dick Shawn was portraying L.S.D. ("That’s our Hitler!”) he was doing Jim Morrison. Did you take notice of that when the movie first came out?
Thanks for the takedown of Clinton Heylin. 100% accurate
This might be a stretch. I think Trump's ability to hypnotize the American electorate might have parallels with Hitler and the Norse god Wotan. Wotan had polarities within the mythology. Add evangelical Christianism to the mix and then you have a strange dangerous brew.
I saw a screening at the Writers Guild of America last weekend. I was leery. Very leery. All in my party are huge Dylan freaks. We all, across the board, LOVED the movie. It's very good. Bob was on the phone with the writer many times about the script. We all thought it was a huge success.
Thanks Greil.
From what I've seen of Tim C.'s (I'm not spelling the whole thing out, either) Dylan portrayal in the previews and ads, I'm not optimistic. I'll be there, too, but as Bob Dylan, my favorite will always be Tilda Swinton in "I'm Not There."
Tilda Swinton wasn't in I'm Not There. Did you mean Cate Blanchett?
Indeed I did, Ben Merliss, and I edited it as soon as I saw it. But people were very kind about the error, and apparently, others have similar brain freezes.
I sure hope you didn't think I was trying to be unkind about it. It's not like that sort of thing has never happed to me.
Not at all, Ben, you are kind, too.
I think I commented before that I visited Jim Morrison's grave with my family on a recent July 3 - the anniversary of his death. There were many more police mulling around than visitors. And those that I saw were our age or older. I saw a larger, more varied, group of visitors at Edith Piaf's grave that day. My then 18-year-old daughter spent more of her time at Cimetière du Père-Lachaise looking for Georges Melies and Chopin.