By Joe Viglione
Hotline to the Underground ran in Bill Taylor’s Musician’s Magazine in the 1970s and The Beat magazine in Boston in the 1980s as well as Ron Bellanti’s Preview and other magazines back in the day.
Having interviewed Taika Waititi in 2010 for his film, Boy, and catching some of his acting in 2011’s Green Lantern, I was intrigued by the title as well as to see what the director was up to since his highly successful Thor:Ragnarok (180m budget, $854m return!)
Jo Jo Rabbit is at first quite unsettling – Sam Rockwell as a Nazi breeding the Hitler Youth, Scarlett Johansson as the protagonist’s mother, both caught inside the vice grip of World War II. Waititi plays a bizarre Adolph Hitler who becomes an obsession in a ten-year old boy’s head, Waititi’s Hitler behaving more like Colonel Klink from Hogan’s Heroes. The boy, Johannes “Jojo” Betzler, played by Roman Griffin Davis in his only film role thus far, is pushed and pulled by the events of the war and his living situation, as any ten-year old would be.
Reading a review of the Christine Leunen’s book that this was based upon, Caging Skies, my suspicions were confirmed that the book contained more darkness than the film. Hollywood’s attraction to Hitler is in and of itself problematic so let’s get to something more uplifting.
*****
“I just got to have your baby” it always sounds like Carole King is singing on the classic 45 RPM “I Feel the Earth Move,” the flip side to “It’s too Late” from the Tapestry album. It’s a terrific opening track for this live recording from the resort town in Switzerland on Lake Geneva, a shoreline made so famous by Deep Purple. This edition to what I call “The Montreux Collection” is crystal clear and – let’s face it – many of us never thought we’d be going back in time 43 years after the event to listen in 2019. “Smackwater Jack” and a raspy-voiced “Home Again” are picture perfect, catching
a snapshot of King when she was the queen of the pop music charts. Sublime.
“Beautiful” is one of my all-time favorites. It is one of those songs that you can put on to get you out of a funk, truly an inspirational, magical melody and the performance here is exquisite. Performing night after night some fans – and artists – may take it all for granted, but we who appreciate these vibrations pouring forth think otherwise. These audio impressions become otherworldly, especially “Up On The Roof,” its songwriter resurrecting the 1962 classic for The Drifters. King released it on her 1970 pre-Tapestry lp, Writer, but here we have a 1973 reading by one of the co-writers. And, think about it, back in the day the stretch from 1962 to 1973 seemed like an eternity, those eleven short years. Now we are talking of a forty-six year span from the Montreux recording to 2019. Can we place it all in a time capsule on the moon for entities in the next century to re-discover these amazing artifacts? Timeless music.
“It’s Too Late” is pensive, moody, a deep look bordering on bluesy. It may be the same tempo, but it doesn’t seem like it. Very nice, the voice coming from a deep blue space in time.
November 9, 2019 the Lynn Auditorium has Peter Noone bringing his amazing work to this edge of the world. Remember Remember the Fifth of November, which is Peter’s birthday. Come celebrate with him – and read my intro to his book here: http://joevigupdate.blogspot.com/2010/06/foreword-to-peter-noone-photo-book.html or Peter’s biography on AllMusic.com https://www.allmusic.com/artist/peter-noone-mn0000263225/biography Happy Birthday, Peter!
Now here’s something musical that you’ll want to see – and this is from the press release – a movie from the band INXS in theaters all over the place starting November 14.
EAGLE ROCK FILMS, PETROL RECORDS & CINEVENTS
ARE PROUD TO PRESENT
INXS “LIVE BABY LIVE”
A GLOBAL THEATRICAL EVENT
from NOVEMBER 14 2019
New York, NY (September 24, 2019)—INXS’s legendary 1991 Wembley Stadium gig shown will be shown in cinemas for the very first time from November 14 2019. The show has been fully restored from the original 35mm print to create a new widescreen 4K Ultra HD version, and the film also now includes a previously unseen “lost” track and a brand new Dolby Atmos audio mix by the band’s Executive Music Producer Giles Martin and Sam Okell, created at Abbey Road Studios.
This stunning concert film will be in cinemas in Australia and New Zealand from November 14, North and South America from December 9, and internationally from November 27. Check INXScinema.com for local listings.
Boston singer/songwriter Dalia Davis takes on Bob Dylan’s “My Back Pages” on Spotify’s Ultimate Bob Dylan Covers: The Original. You can find it on the terrific Low Budget Records label as well on their A Lowbudget Tribute to the Songs of Bob Dylan. Dalia’s voice is amazing and the production is superb. This is such a unique rendition with Gospel elements drenching the tempo, the vibe, the instrumentation. Just superb and worthy of your attention. https://tinyurl.com/daliasbackpages Go to TinyURL.com dalias back pages
Lowbudget has a second Beatles cover album in release which we will be reviewing over the next few weeks. Across Their Universe II – Another Lowbudget Tribute To The Beatles So much great music