Hot grits and broken ankles: Two docs from Robert Mugge

This week there are two DVD reissues from music documentarian Robert Mugge, focusing on two very different artists in somewhat similar straits. With the documentaries Gospel According to Al Green (1984) and Sonny Rollins: Saxophone Colossus (1986), Mugge finds both artists on the other side of their commercial and (perceived) creative peaks, with both reaching in different directions for new inspiration.

Gospel According to begins with the soulful Al Green solo with guitar, singing about a love deep in his heart. His beaming smiles and squeals of delight spill joy through the screen into our laps. Going in blind, the assumption here is the song is about love for a woman, but when he plays the song again through the credits, what we've seen in the prior 90 minutes confirms that it's more likely about his love for God. Using fiery gospel performances from 1984 as a backdrop, the film intertwines interviews with Green, producer Willie Mitchell and rock critics to piece together his conversion.

Much of the film seems built around getting Green to talk about the infamous "hot grits" incident that most believe (and Green finally admits 30 years later) spurred his conversion. The story goes that Green was seeing 29-year-old Mary Woodson, while seeing other women, and when Green turned down an offer for marriage she became unhinged. While Green took a bath to unwind after a long recording session, the spurned lover Woodson boiled some grits on the stove and proceeded to throw them on a naked Green. He suffered second and third degree burns, and barricaded himself in a room. With her revenge now complete, Woodson located Green's .38 revolver and took her own life. As Green tells the story in the film, it seems to occupy a blind spot in his memory, even earnestly asking Mugge, "Did it really happen?" -- as if he hadn't really been a witness to the incident. Green, in fact, tells of his born-again conversion for the film entirely different, insisting instead that it was a 4 a.m. wake-up call from his Lord in a hotel room in Anaheim back in 1973, predating the incident (and a lot more sleeping around) by more than a year.

Green began moving toward gospel, eventually distancing himself completely from secular music after 1977's The Belle Album. That album features a lyric in its title track that pretty much encapsulates the bridge between gospel and soul that Green had been crossing: "It's you that I want, but it's Him that I need." Green then turned his back on the money and fame and gave himself fully to singing only for the Lord. With Green's recent successful return to secular music (last year's Lay It Down), seeing Green in full gospel mode is even timelier. Green really gets a workout screaming for the Lord, and it's hard for even the hardened to resist his unbridled joy. But is it really all joy, or is part of it just a mask for the past he's repressing?

Playlist: Rssmbld Sndtrck - Gospel According to Al Green

Meanwhile, if Gospel is fascinating for an incident unseen, Sonny Rollins: Saxophone Colossus actually captures a legendary scene on film. The film is really two short documentaries put together, the first focusing on an outdoor concert in Saugerties, New York, in August of 1986, and the second on the debut of a concerto Rollins wrote, performed in Tokyo with a symphony backing him. Mugge again weaves together interviews with his subject (with his wife Lucille) alongside critics, who, much to Mugge's chagrin, can't find anything negative to say about the legend, other than his recordings often don't live up to his live performances.

The Saugerties concert is legendary, and Rollins' playing helps make his critics' point, as he is on fire through the performance. The concert is captured in the album G-Man, which served as the soundtrack release for the movie. The title track opens the film and features some of Rollins' most daring solos ever captured. Later, during a rendition of "Autumn Nocturne," Rollins moves from song-to-song phrasing before deciding to jump off the rocky stage, breaking his ankle on the fall. He lies there for a minute, assessing his pain, before launching back into his solo, much to the delight of his bandmates and audience alike.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the second half in Tokyo, as his "Concerto for Tenor Sax" seems pedestrian in comparison, and the symphony backing him mostly a distraction from the solos he conjures up on stage. It's no wonder that this is the only recording commercially available.

Both DVDs are kind of grainy in the transfer, as it seems the original reels were not well preserved, but the sound is top-notch. Extra features for Gospel include an uncut 90 minute interview with Green that is placed in like a director's commentary, and both DVDs have video of the director's recollections, with Mugge giving insight into several key scenes for both films. Both are great for fans of the artists, but I'd only really recommend Gospel for the casual fan.

If (and when) All Goes Wrong

When Smashing Pumpkins broke up in 2000, by all accounts, it was the right time, as the band had seemingly run it's course. But after a failed attempt at both a supergroup (Zwan) and an abysmal solo release (TheFutureEmbrace,) Billy Corgan decided to get the band back together, even taking out a full page ad in The Chicago Tribune to announce it before telling anyone -- except, of course, drummer Jimmy Chamberlain, who it seems would follow Corgan into a burning building.

The documentary If All Goes Wrong picks up the story at the point where Corgan has picked his band replacements for original members James Iha and D'arcy Wretzky, who passed on the reunion, and the beginning of a series of shows in Asheville, NC and then San Francisco. At first glance, it seems the new members, Jeff Schroeder and Ginger Reyes, have been picked in part due to their passing resemblances to the folks they were replacing, giving more credence to the belief that their roles were more image to Corgan than musical. Of course, that could just be me being cynical.

"We were once the Smashing Pumpkins. I don't know what we are now... good night!"
- Billy Corgan, ending a trying concert at The Fillmore

Corgan, for his part, is gets awfully prickly when the subject of his old band mates are brought up. When asked why the new incarnation of SP doesn't play the songs "Soma" or "Mayonaise," Corgan mentions that Iha has co-writing credit for those songs, and after explaining the parts and playing a bit of "Soma," Corgan is so frustrated with the subject of Iha, he throws his guitar across the room. It's moments like this, though, that make the documentary watchable, the few times where Corgan accidentally lets us in on how he really feels about things. Too much of the documentary relies on adoring fans (and several random talking heads only credited as 'writer') to try and frame the story, as rarely do they have anything more meaningful to say than the cliches of "his music changed my life."

It's telling that we see nearly as much of Corgan in a bathrobe writing songs as we do of him on stage playing them, showing that he wanted to give access to his artistic process, but in the end, he comes off more of an egomaniac than what he probably was hoping to convey. Perhaps he saw himself like Jeff Tweedy in the Wilco documentary I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, but Corgan seems far more aware of the camera. The idea of writing a song during the day and debuting it later that night at a show is kind of cool in theory, but that's only if the songs will resonate, and, for the most part, they don't.

Besides playing all the new songs, SP also a play a tour-only beast of a song called "Gossamer" that runs anywhere between 20-38 minutes long, depending on how much Corgan feels like testing the audience. In Asheville, both Corgan and the audience are more patient, but in San Francisco, things turn a bit more adversarial, thanks in part to criticism in the press. (This mutual animosity between Corgan and more discerning audience members as carried over into some great fireworks at recent shows in New York.)

Along with the documentary, there's a concert film, piecing together songs from the Fillmore shows, featuring zero songs that would make a well edited greatest hits album (to be fair, one song,"Untitled," actually debuted on their Greatest Hits compilation, ) and a bonus relaxed set from the Fillmore floor (none of those pesky fans).

Disc 1:
"If All Goes Wrong" documentary
"Voices Of The Ghost Children" featurette
Interview with THE WHO guitarist Pete Townshend

Disc 2:
The Fillmore Residency
01. The Rose March*
02. Peace + Love*
03. 99 Floors*
04. Superchrist
05. Lucky 13
06. Starla
07. Death From Above
08. The Crying Tree Of Mercury
09. Winterlong
10. Heavy Metal Machine
11. Untitled
12. No Surrender*
13. Gossamer*
14. Zeitgeist
Bonus Tracks: Live From The Floor Of The Fillmore
01. 99 Floors*
02. Peace + Love*
03. No Surrender*
04. Mama*
05. Promise Me*

*previously unreleased

Billy the Kid: Adolescence Unfiltered

I have to admit, my memories of high school are a bit fuzzy, but watching the subject of the documentary Billy the Kid make his way through the world both jogged some fond nostalgia and triggered some cringe-inducing memories of those days of innocence. 15-year-old Billy says and does almost whatever is on his mind at the time, lacking the detachment and filter that most develop in order to survive the cruelties of the world (and high school, specifically). As a result, we're allowed an immediate inside look at Billy, which explains the choice for the opening scene: Billy opening his mouth as wide as he can to allow the camera to look far enough inside him to see his uvula ("it's that dangly thing at the back of the mouth," he says helpfully).

It's this full access to Billy's mind that helps drives the film, and allowed first time director Jennifer Venditti to shoot a whirlwind of a story in only a few days. The first day is all about getting to know Billy. By the end of the second day, he seems to realize that there needs to be love story and makes the acquaintance of a partially blind girl Heather. By the third day, he's talking her ear off and letting her into his world of karate, horror films and several other items that fall into the 'too much information' file. On the fourth day, he asks to be her boyfriend, and she agrees, putting our hero on cloud nine. By the end of the fifth day, she's broken up with him, and Billy is inconsolable.

And that's Billy, really, he's 100% on at all times, so everything is steeped in either joy or melancholy (and often times, the sweet spot where both meet). He's a romantic, a believer in justice, a purple belt in karate, loves horror films, Harry Potter and to play guitar along to KISS. And his best friend is his mother (the other hero of the film). He's like a combination of Napoleon Dynamite and Max Fischer from Rushmore, a geek to be sure, but one with a college grad's vocabulary and an appreciation for French Impressionism.

First time director Jennifer Venditti discovered her subject by chance during her job as a casting director for the film Bugcrush, and through the film, and especially in an interview that's part of the DVD's extra features, it's obvious that she developed a real fondness for her subject. On the DVD release, there's a secondary short film called "Pieces that Don't Fit" which edits together deleted scenes and post-film reaction from Billy and his mother. Watching them laugh and cringe a year later at certain scenes of the film was, in many respects, as fascinating as the film itself. Just prior to this (and after the film had been finished,) Billy was been diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome, a kind of autism, but Venditti doesn't want that to be the lens in which you watch Billy through here, so she's intentionally left that diagnosis out of this short, and the DVD, for that matter. It only comes up in the interview, where she clarifies her reasonings for leaving it out.

There was no soundtrack release for the film, but the music written for the film makes it's way on to the DVD here, including new songs from The Virgins ("Fight to Survive") and Lissy Trullie ("Billy"). But the real music star of the film is the band KISS, one of Billy's favorite bands (along with AC/DC). Part of Billy's attraction to the band is the makeup, which is kind of ironic given that Billy is metaphorically free of makeup. I think his attraction, like many adolescents, is more the confidence that rock bands like KISS excude. While playing guitar along to "God of Thunder" all the pain of being a lonely teenager is gone for the moment.

Sometimes to be the hero you have to endure pain...
sometimes life is a pain in the butt!
Billy

I know life sometimes can get tough,
and I know life sometimes can be a drag,
but people, we have been given a gift
we have been given a road
and that road's name is... Rock and Roll!
"God Gave Rock and Roll to You" - KISS

Playlist: KISS songs featured in Billy the Kid
1. "Psycho Circus" - KISS
2. "God Of Thunder" - KISS
3. "Forever" - KISS
4. "Rock And Roll All Nite" - KISS
5. "God Gave Rock 'N' Roll To You II" - KISS

Celebrate Sub Pop's Anniversary on the small screen

Twenty years ago in Seattle, the flannel was plentiful and the music was loud, and at the center of it all was the record label Sub Pop. This weekend, the label celebrates its 20th anniversary and so the story of the Seattle music scene is being retold all over again in the media. Probably the best and surprisingly accurate description of what happened is the Doug Pray documentary Hype!, which was five years in the making.

Hype! is told from the perspective of the people swept up in the middle of the grunge scene, with Sub Pop at the epicenter of both the scene and the film's voice. Not only are there amazing live performances captured, but the film is pretty hilarious, poking many holes in the mythology of the so-called genre. Sub Pop employee Megan Jasper famously sold The New York Times on bogus grunge slang, making up phrases like 'swingin' on the flippity-flop' (hanging out) and harsh realm (a bummer) which the Times printed verbatim ("Grunge: A Success Story," November 15, 1992). Between that and seeing models on the runway wearing flannel at Fashion Week it was inevitable that the anti-market scene was being over-marketed and would phase out soon enough (and in its wake, a chorus of "good riddance"). The film also features footage of the first time Nirvana played "Smells Like Teen Spirit," which has a special place in my heart -- because I was there!

Another great film that indirectly documents Sub Pop's historical rise is the Sonic Youth concert film 1991: The Year Punk Broke. The NY band was one of the first to appear on a Sub Pop imprint (the compilation Sub Pop 100), and befriended several bands on the label, including Nirvana, who they took under their wing on tour in Europe just prior to their (and, in turn, Sub Pop's) breakthrough. Full of great concert footage and oddball humor (see Kurt Cobain mock Kevin Costner from Madonna's Truth or Dare concert film) it captures a moment in time before everything would change, for good and for bad.

Other DVD's that share a part of Sub Pop's history:
Acquired Taste - A collection of videos from more recent Sub Pop artists including The Shins, Iron & Wine, The Postal Service, Sleater-Kinney and Hot Hot Heat
The Murder City Devils: Rock & Roll Won't Wait - An all access, warts and all look at the once popular Seattle punk rock act. Full of drinking, punching, bleeding and of course rocking.
Mudhoney: Live at El Sol - Recent (2007) performance of the legendary Seattle rockers, which beautifully captures singer Mark Arm's lovably ornery humor.
David Cross: Let America Laugh - At the turn of the century, Sub Pop started branching out into comedy, starting with funnyman David Cross, who's albums on the label are a throwback to George Carlin's classics from the 1970's.
Garden State - The Zach Braff curated soundtrack promised to change your life, but it mostly changed Sub Pop's. It was nearly Nevermind: The Sequel as The Shins became huge, and allowed the label to expand it's stable of artists once again.
Flight of the Conchords: Season 1 - Considering they were doing both music and comedy, the label is the perfect fit for this comedic duo to release their music. The series is already a cult hit, and the music's not bad either.

A Zippo-shaped time machine

Just looking at the packaging for the first season of Mad Men on DVD reminds of Don Draper's sales pitch in the finale: "It's not a spaceship, it's a time machine." He was of course talking about a slide projector, and techno-flash versus the intangible, but it's a fitting description of both the Zippo-like packaging and the series as a whole. Mad Men was like traveling back in time for an hour every Thursday night, with the attention to detail with the costumes, lighting, and of course smoking. (Scroll below to watch the pilot online).

Anyone regular readers of this space know that I'm a huge fan of the show, so I won't go too far into rehashing last season, as that's what the special features in this beautiful DVD set do, almost too much, if that's possible. There's at least one commentary included for each episode, and in many cases multiple commentaries running -- 23 total, for the 13 episodes, highlighted by John Slattery giving a technical look behind the scenes at how his character Roger Sterling 'tossed' an oyster-and-martini-filled lunch. In addition, there's also two fascinating documentaries, Advertising the American Dream, which looks at how the advertising industry worked in the 1960's, and Establishing 'Mad Men', which follows the development of the series from start to shooting. It's quite a lot to chew on, but those who truly loved the series will want this package, even for the $49.95 price tage.

The box arrives just in time to relive (or catch up, for those who somehow missed the train,) all the goings on at Sterling Cooper before season two is upon us (July 27). At that point, we'll all be playing catching up, figuring out what happened in the 14 months time that has elapsed (season two begins with Valentine's Day, 1962).

Meanwhile, last week also saw the release of a soundtrack to the series, Mad Men: Music From the Series, Vol. 1. Featuring Vic Damone, The McGuire Sisters, Bobby Vinton, Ella Fitzgerald, Rosemary Clooney and more, the soundtrack mirrors not only the time and place, but as readers of my know, do so much more. In reference to the music, creator Matthew Weiner has said, "Music on Mad Men is never an accident. The philosophy of the sound was pointed: do as much to enhance the feeling of the period while offering an artistic commentary to the themes of each show." It's worth noting that there's at least an expectation for further volumes in the soundtrack series, which I'm looking forward to, naturally.

Playlist: Mad Men: Music From the Series, Vol. 1

If just to relive, or just for a big toe dip, here's the pilot that introduced us to Don Draper and the Sterling Cooper agency:

Part 2, Part 3

Catching up with The Wire: Season 4

These past few days felt like I was back in school cramming for a test, having to drop 13 hours in just a couple of days. Fitting, though, in that the fourth season of The Wire is all about education. The schools, the corners, the mayor's office -- hell, even a Home Depot knock off educates our fave chick hitter Snoop.

True dat.


The real stars of this fourth season are the eighth graders from Tilghman Middle School, as we get a look at how the No Child Left Behind program leaves so many children behind. The characters Namond, Michael, Randy and Dukie are all at a critical point in their lives where they either will either move on to high school or make their way on 'the corner,' and it's through their eyes -- and the eyes of cops-turned-teachers Prez and Bunny -- that we see how schools have been forced to turn away from reaching kids and instead teaching 'the test.' Co-creator Ed Burns was a detective who moved on to become a teacher, and it's his experience that is mined for this season -- a story that's both eye-opening and heartbreaking.

To emphasize the story, The Wire turned to a collective of 14-year olds (DoMaJe) to perform Tom Waits' "Way Down in the Hole," and it works beautifully, especially juxtaposed against the aged veterans who sing the other season's versions (The Blind Boys of Alabama, Waits, The Neville Brothers, and this coming season's by Steve Earle). All these versions appear on a new soundtrack to be released this coming Tuesday (January 8,) entitled ...and all the pieces matter, Five Years of Music from 'The Wire'. This is also the first season that music from Baltimore started to become more front and center. Dirty Hartz, Mullyman, Diablo and DJ Technics are just a handful of the 'Bodymore Murderland' artists featured in the season, and a second soundtrack highlighting them is also coming out next week, called Beyond Hamsterdam, Baltimore Tracks from The Wire, a reference both to season three and Darkroom Productions' popular Hamsterdam Mixtape.

As the seasons have progressed in The Wire, the breadth and width of the music choices has grown to include Latin and Carnival Funk from New Orleans. The addition of Latin music makes sense due to the influx of Latinos in B'More's population, but the New Orleans tracks (The Meters, The Wild Magnolias, Raymond Winnfield) initially seemed odd. However, if there's a sister city to B'More, it's probably The Big Easy, with it's own brand of urban decay. It also might be serving as a precursor to David Simon's next project which reportedly will take place in New Orleans. Meanwhile, the final episode's montage is set to Paul Weller's take on the voodoo classic "I Walk On Gilded Splinters," a song made famous by New Orleans' Dr. John, and containing the refrain, Here I go, now / 'Til I murder, 'til I'm dead. It suggests a chilling future for young Michael.

Playlist: The Wire - Season 4
Here's a sampling of some of the 75 tracks from the playlist/season (full tracklisting here)
"Way Down in the Hole" - DoMaJe - Season 4 theme song
"Survival Of The Fittest" - Mobb Deep - Ep4.01
"Give Up The Funk (Tear The Roof Off The Sucker)" - Parliament - Ep4.01
"Ring Of Fire" - Johnny Cash - Ep4.02
"Why Didn't You Call Me" - Macy Gray - Ep4.03
"Smoke My Peace Pipe (Smoke It Right)" - The Wild Magnolias - Ep4.04
"Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out" - Deacon John - Ep4.04
"Cissy Strut" - The Meters - Ep4.04
"Another One Bites The Dust" - Clint Eastwood & General Saint - Ep4.05
"Back Stabbers" - The O'Jays - Ep4.05
"Move On Up" - Curtis Mayfield - Ep4.06
"We Are Family" - Sister Sledge - Ep4.06
"Dance My Pain Away" - Rod Lee - Ep4.07
"The Body Of An American" - The Pogues - Ep4.08
"B.O.B." - Outkast - Ep4.08
"I Cover the Waterfront" - Billie Holiday - Ep4.09
"Lord Give Me A Sign" - DMX - Ep4.09
"Got To Get You Off My Mind" - Solomon Burke - Ep4.10
"Carta Del Hijo Preso" - K'luba - Ep4.11
"Hey Pocky A-Way" - The Meters - Ep4.11
"Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It" - Dem Franchize Boyz - Ep4.11
"Things Could Be Better" - Raymond Winnfield - Ep4.12
"I Walk On Gilded Splinters" - Paul Weller - Ep4.13
HBO's Scene and track information

More: As always, the season 4 recap video is good for a refresher, but I think my favorite is a specific Chris and Snoop scene. When they're hired to take out New Yorkers encroaching on East Baltimore corners, they come up with a way of distinguishing their targets from the B'More slingers: Ask them about Baltimore Club music. Seems if you don't have some education on Young Leek's "Jiggle It," then you'd better run. "Where's your Yankee pride now?" asks Snoop later on to a couple corpses.

Previously: Season 1, Season 2, Season 3

Catching up with The Wire: Season 3

I'm cutting it close on all this catching up, having to sprint to the finish, but the third season of HBO's The Wire has made this endeavor even more worth while. Written with a theme of 'reform,' the season also served as a metaphor for the war in Iraq, further comparing the war on drugs with the war on terror. Since the start of the war on drugs campaign, police have become more like occupiers of a foreign country than members of the community. The season opens appropriately enough with the towers from season one coming down, a strong visual reference to 9/11. Their demolition is supposed to mark the beginning of change in Mayor Royce's administration, and as they come down, the crowd witnessing it is quickly enveloped in dust. Even in the DVD commentary, creator David Simon says "here's your reform" as the dust hits.

Ultimately, the third season is framed around the experiment of legalizing drugs, and the plot points sort of circle around the concept. 'Hamsterdam,' as it becomes known to it's inhabitants, is the idea of soon-to-be-retiring Major Colvin, who, under political pressure to reduce crime, decides that a different approach to the problem needs to be taken. Continuing to do the same corner busts just isn't cutting it, and to continue would be like Poot getting his action from the same girl in the towers and coming away with the Clap every time - as Bodie admonishes him in the opening scene: "Don't matter how many times you get burnt, you just keep doin' the same."

The Wire essentially advocates giving a serious look at legalizing drugs as a way to deal with the problem, and it's too bad there isn't enough viewers to let the debate take hold in a larger arena. Honestly, this season really should be required viewing for anyone looking at the problem of drugs in an urban environment, it's that important of a story.

'Hamsterdam' wasn't the only reform in the season, though, as you had several characters going through the process themselves, some outward, some more internally. The character Cutty gets out of prison and after reforming himself, extends a hand -- or rather, a boxing glove -- to some kids heading down the same wrong path that he went down. Stringer Bell looked to make himself a legitimate business man, but is cut down by that where he wants to go (Sen. Clay Davis) and where he comes from (Omar). Meanwhile, McNulty goes through a Moby Dick-like struggle all season, with Stringer as his whale, and when it's over, his reformation comes in the form of removing himself from the hunt -- settling instead to take Lester's advice and 'get a life.'

Season three was also remarkable for it's increased use of non-actors, especially from the Baltimore community. Former mayor Kurt Schmoke plays the health commissioner who sees some benefit of the 'Hamsterdam' experiment. During's Schmoke's time as the mayor of Baltimore, he spoke out against the war on drugs, and proposed decriminalization. Former police commissioner Ed Norris plays a homicide detective, the real officer Jay Landsman plays Lt. Dennis Mello, and city council employee Richard Burton plays Shamrock. Burton runs the Believe campaign which aims to reduce drug trafficking, drug violence and drug use in Baltimore. Meanwhile, one of the real life drug lords that the Avon Barksdale character is based on, "Little Melvin" Williams, plays the part of a deacon; and former thug and go-go rapper Anwon "Big G" Glover (Backyard Band) plays Barksdale muscle Slim Charles.

One key non-actor missing this season was executive producer Robert Colesberry, who died between seasons. For the third season, they held a wake for the character of Cole, and, in turn, for the man who portrayed him. The scene was touching, full of references to films he worked on, and featuring the cast singing along to The Pogues "The Body of an American." A couple other key music moments bookend the series with movie references. The first and last episodes contain homages to Apocalypse Now, first using "Theme for Shaft" as the West Baltimore police unit overdoes a search for a 'runner,' using a ridiculous amount of manpower to hunt down the lowest of priorities, like when Lt. Colonel Bill Kilgore (Robert Duvall) napalms a village's beach in the name of surfing. The final episode revisits Kilgore's attack by having Major Rawls blasting Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries" from his patrol car as they make their raid on 'Hamsterdam' -- in the name of the war on drugs.

Playlist: The Wire - Season 3
1. "Way Down in the Hole" - The Neville Brothers - Season 3 theme song
2. "The Fall" - Blake - closing credits
3. "In Da Club" - 50 Cent - Ep3.01
4. "Theme from 'Shaft'" - Isaac Hayes - Ep3.01
5. "Atomic Dog" - George Clinton - Ep3.02
6. "Stand Up" - Ludacris - Ep3.02
7. "Body of an American" - The Pogues - Ep3.03
8. "In My Life" - DJ Technics - Ep3.04
9. "My Downfall" - Notorious B.I.G. - Ep3.04
10. "Splash Waterfalls" - Ludicris - Ep3.04
11. "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" - Marvin Gaye - Ep3.04
12. "Me and Baby Brother" - WAR - Ep3.05
13. "On Fire" - Lloyd Banks - Ep3.05
14. "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" - Jay-Z - Ep3.06
15. "Strong Enough" - Sheryl Crow - Ep3.07
16. "Headsprung" - LL Cool J - Ep3.07
17. "Buffalo Soldier" - Bob Marley - Ep3.08
18. "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" - Hank Williams - Ep3.08
19. "Tipsy" - J-Kwon - Ep3.08
20. "The Payback" - James Brown - Ep3.08
21. "The Way You Move" - Outkast - Ep3.09
22. "Little Bit O' Soul" - The Music Explosion - Ep3.11
23. "Burn Rubber (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)" - The Gap Band - Ep3.11
24. "White Tee" - Dem Franchize Boyz - Ep3.11
25. "When We Ride On Our Enemies" - 2Pac - Ep3.11
26. "A Place Nobody Can Find" - Sam and Dave - Ep3.11
27. "Drop It Like It's Hot" - Snoop Dogg - Ep3.12
28. "Die Walkure (Ride of the Valkyries)" - Richard Wagner - Ep3.12
29. "Fast Train" - Solomon Burke - Ep3.12
Compiled with some help from Mandel Maven's Nest on The Wire.

More: Aside from HBO's Season 3 recap, the best video to check out on the season is the old west-style showdown between Omar and Brother Mouzone. They stare each other down, talking about their weapons like in a Serge Leone Western, before Brother Mouzone offers some middle ground. "Omar listenin'."

Previously: Season 1, Season 2

Soundtracking Anderson: Bottle Rocket

The latest film from Wes Anderson, The Darjeeling Limited, comes out next Friday, and in anticipation of that I've reassembled all the music to each of his prior films, starting today with Bottle Rocket.

Wes Anderson is a creature of habit, or perhaps I should word that differently... when Anderson finds something he likes, he sticks with it. Bottle Rocket began his long relationship with Owen Wilson, who's been a part of every Anderson film released thus far, and in light of recent events, it's fascinating to go back and see his Dennis Hopper-like portrayal of Dignan, the wanna-be criminal. Anderson keeps going back to the same well with the music as well, and Bottle Rocket started his relationship with music supervisor Randall Poster*, Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh doing score, the songs of The Rolling Stones** and the music of the old Peanuts cartoons, with songs from Vince Guaraldi appearing on the original short from 1994.

Each Anderson film seems to center on a single artist and branch out from there, and for Bottle Rocket it's the band Love. This Los Angeles psychedelic-tinged outfit was led by the late Arthur Lee, who, like Wilson's Dignan, fancied himself an outlaw. That the band incorporated Spanish-style embellishments only added to the appropriateness of the songs to the film.

Below are playlists reassembling the songs as they appeared in the film. I've included the soundtrack to the original short from '94 as well (chock full of Charlie Brown goodness.)

Playlist: Rssmbld Sndtrck - Bottle Rocket (1996)
1. "Alone Again Or" - Love
2. "2000 Man" - The Rolling Stones
3. "Seven & Seven Is" - Love
4. "Prendeme La Vela" - Abelardo Vasquez & Cumanana
5. "Zorro is Back" - Oliver Onions
6. "Mambo Guajiro" - Rene Touzet
6. "Pachanga Diferente" - Rene Touzet
7. "Over And Done With" - The Proclaimers
Score by Mark Mothersbaugh

Playlist: Rssmbld Sndtrck - Bottle Rocket (1994 - Short)
1. Old Devil Moon - Sonny Rollins
2. The Route - Chet Baker
3. Skating - Vince Guaraldi
4. Stevie - Duke Ellington
5. Happiness Is - Vince Guaraldi
6. Jane-O - Zoot Sims

*When Anderson first delivered Bottle Rocket it fell kind of flat, so producer James Brooks brought in Randall Poster to help flesh out the soundtrack and he brought in Mothersbaugh to do the score as well.
**It should be noted that while The Rolling Stones have a song in every film, none appear in the soundtrack releases.... that is until next week. The Darjeeling Limited Soundtrack is being released on ABKO Records, which is notable for being the home of Mick and Keith's little band. That's one way to finally get the Stones on your album.

tags: music, film, soundtrack, wes anderson, mark mothersbaugh, rolling stones, vince guaraldi, bottle rocket, love, arthur lee, playlist

Clear eyes, full hearts and a money back guarantee

It's third and long as far as marketing goes for NBC's Friday Night Lights, and the folks at Universal/NBC have drawn up some new plays for season two. In an unprecedented move, they're offering a money back guarantee on the DVD release of FNL's first season (out this Tuesday, August 28.) It seems like a risky move, but when you have as nearly a perfect first season as FNL did, it's not a bad bet that seeing is believing.

"Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose" is the oft-repeated phrase of the football team on the series, and it became a sort of battle cry for dedicated viewers who were justifiably worried about it first being cancelled, then about it not being picked up for a 2nd season. But like they did with their other pet 30 Rock, NBC kept the series in play and finally gave it the full 22 episode renewal, even though it attracted little in the way of eyeballs (FNL finished a dismal 95th in series viewership last season.)

Besides being the best new drama of last year, FNL is also in my top five for best use of music in a series. Much of that is due to the use of the East Texas indie rock instrumental act Explosions in the Sky, who's catalogue of songs were utilized extensively throughout the series. The trio builds sweeping landscapes that reflect the area, so it should be no surprise that it goes so well with the setting of Dillon, Texas. Besides EITS, there was the inspired choice of Jose Gonzalez' "Storm," which got used in a couple episodes. Songs from LCD Soundsystem, TV on the Radio, Spoon, Calexico w/ Iron & Wine, The Go! Team, Richard Buckner, Sparklehorse and Whiskeytown all provided ample goosebumps. But if there's a backup theme song to the first season, it would be the song "Devil Town" performed for the series by Tony Lucca. The song is a cover of schizophrenic pop genius (and Texas resident) Daniel Johnston, who's haunting acapella is probably too eccentric for primetime television. The song acts as a witty commentary on the crazed town of Dillon, and how even the best can fall into fanaticism. "All my friends were vampires / didn't know they were vampires / turns out I was a vampire myself... in a devil town."

Playlist: Friday Night Lights First Season
Full tracklisting with episode breakout

In anticipation of the DVD release, an FNL soundtrack was released last week featuring much of the music here (Friday Night Lights Original Television Soundtrack.)

tags: music, television, soundtrack, friday night lights, fnl, tvotr, explosions in the sky, jose gonzalez, indie rock, rhapsody

From easy to stranglehold in twelve acts

Like that other HBO series, Entourage premieres the second part of their season (their third) this Sunday, and the DVD of the first part hit the shelves this week... by my calculations, that gives you now just four days to hug it out with the collection. Musically, the show packs in a tremendous amount of music for a 30-minute program, and the track choices are more then just a backdrop of partying in Hollywood.

Playlist: Entourage - Season 3, Pt 1

Take for instance how the season begins and ends. It all begins with Ghostface Killah's request to "Be Easy," which is indicitive of the mood the gang's all in. Vinnie's blockbuster Aquaman is about to open, the money's flowing and the stardom is a heartbeat away. The season ends with Ted Nugent's "Stranglehold," and without spoiling too much, most of that goodwill seems now to be up in the air.

So how did we get from easy to stranglehold? In the first few episodes, everythings mostly copacetic. Songs like Joe Cocker's "Feelin' Alright," "I Just Want to Celebrate" from Rare Earth and Sinatra's "I've Got the World on a String" are all in sync with the gang riding the wave of fame and fortune. Eric's managing a star now, Turtle's got his own biz now managing the up and coming rap star Saigon, and Ari's new business is breaking ground. But then things start to get interesting. Notice how the songs (in general) get more conflicted and dramatic, and aside from the diversion with The Ramones ("Blitzkrieg Bop," "Rockaway Beach" are used in conjunction with a Joey Ramone bio film pitch,) it progresses steadily until we're led to the introspection of TV on the Radio's "Staring at the Sun," which was as profound a moment as the show has had in it's three seasons thus far.

What do we have to expect with this second part coming up? More specific then the usual great hip-hop, classic rock and indie rock, I'd venture to guess that Kings of Leon will be in the mix, as they've featured the band in each season (and they have a new album out this very week... coincidence?) Here's the teaser trailer for what's to come.

Full tracklisting
HBO's episode-by-episode music and scenes

tags: playlist, entourage, television, hbo, soundtrack, ted nugent, kings of leon, ghostface, indie rock, rap, hip-hop, the ramones, tvotr

The smartest guys have now left the room

With the sentencing Tuesday of former CEO Jeff Skilling, the book on Enron is essentially closed, but it's worth taking another look at the thought provoking documentary Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, that revealed the dark truth of Enron's collapse and the 'New Economy.'

The documentary closely follows CEO Skilling, Chairman Kenneth Lay and CFO Andrew Fastow from the beginnings of Enron fortune through their incredible fall, and reveals that the latest wave of white collar crime was more then just a 'few bad apples.' Throughout the film, writer-director Alex Gibney utilizes music in a fascinating way - first is the use of invidual themes: Lay's theme song turns out to be Dusty Springfield's "Son of a Preacher Man" (yes he was, yes he was;) while Skilling gets Marilyn Manson's dark cover of "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of Thise)" - playing to his greedy view of the American dream; and CFO Andrew Fastow's theme is appropriately enough Traffic's "Dear Mr. Fantasy."

Playlist: Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room

Gibney also reveals some of his political leanings by backing Ronald Reagan talking about the magic of the marketplace with Judy Garland singing "That Old Black Magic." Elsewhere, there are four (count them, four) songs from the great Tom Waits, including both the opening ("What's He Building?") and the closing credits ("God's Away On Business,") which, in my book, pushes this soundtrack to elite status.

tags: playlist, soundtrack, film, movie, documentary, enron, tom waits, jeff skilling, ken lay, dusty springfield, rhapsody

My ocardial infarction

I'm not sure just what Scrubs has to do to get any respect*. For the last couple seasons, they've been ordered as a mid-season replacement, and their DVD release schedule is a full year behind what it should be. (Perhaps they should employ Floating Head Doctor to tackle this multi-level problem.)

Today sees the release of the fourth season on DVD, the season in which star Zach Braff first finds himself a music tastemaker, thanks mostly to his directorial debut, and grammy award winning soundtrack to Garden State. Braff used some influence to get two of his friends in the soundtrack to the show: Joshua Radin (4 songs,) and Cary Brothers (3 songs.)

Playlist: Scrubs - Season 4
Tracklisting

The music selection is more then nepotistic, though, as Scrubs has always used music to help tell the story, or make a fantasy sequence more... fantastical. Whether it's a patient singing Meatloaf's "I Would Do Anything Thing for Love (But I Won't Do That)" a flashback sequence backed by A-ha's "Take On Me," the music is important to the scene. Unlike past DVD sets, I'm told none of the music was changed from the series (to save on licensing,) which kind of tainted prior DVD seasons.

Creator Bill Lawrence has hinted that this season, Scrubs' 6th on NBC, is most likely it's last... so enjoy it while it you can.

*This, of course, coming from someone never watched it on air (only catching up via DVD.)

tags: music, playlist, television, soundtrack, scrubs, zach braff, dvd, rhapsody

Always took a penny, never left a penny

Playlist: MY NAME IS EARL - Season 1

Once upon a time the great Eastern guru Carson Daly said "do good things, and good things will happen to you" and it was a morphine-induced Earl Hickey (Jason Lee) that heard that karma call. Today the first season of MY NAME IS EARL comes out on DVD, and in celebration of that I've compiled all the great (and so-so) musical moments from show's inaugural bow.

Heavy on the classic rock (Earl's mustache demands it) you could call this EVEN MORE DAZED AND CONFUSED, except for the occasional deviation. In the middle of all the Allman Bros., Lynyrd Skynyrd and Bachman-Turner Overdrive are songs from Nick Drake, The Cardigans and Red Hot Chili Peppers. But if you had to pick one artist that encompasses the show, it would be Country Funk legend Jerry Reed. You might remember "East Bound and Down" (from SMOKEY & THE BANDIT) was used during an episode (Episode 1x07 - 'Stole Beer From a Golfer') when Earl and Randy drove in the original BANDIT car from the movie.

Also out today is MY NAME IS EARL - THE ALBUM, which has many of the best song memories from the show, including both Jerry Reed songs ("Amos Moses" being the other,) Young MC's "Bust a Move" (which you might remember from Joy's wedding) and Sammy Davis busting out the great "Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette.)" But like the show itself, the soundtrack takes some sharp corners. Instead of using the original versions of many songs, artists like John Hiatt and Matthew Sweet contribute covers. On paper it sounds interesting, but even the dream matchup of Sweet doing ELO ("Livin' Thing") falls flat. The others are, at best, wholly unnecessary.

tags: television, music, soundtrack, my name is earl, jerry reed, dvd, lynyrd skynyrd, rhapsody

So pick me, choose me, love me

Playlist: GREY'S ANATOMY - Season 2

When the dust settled from Super Bowl XL, this past February, it became clear that the real winner was in fact GREY'S ANATOMY. ABC followed the big game with a riveting cliffhanger episode (#216 - "It's the End of the World") that had folks on the edge of their seats (that was #217, "As We Know It" for all you REM fans.) After that, the series was a mainstay at the top of the weekly ratings, and with a move to Thursday nights this season, looks to squash that other musically oriented series, THE OC. GREY'S actually seems like the cool older sister to THE OC, musically speaking. She can impress you by playing Dressy Bessy, but then immediately embarrass you when you see she's got James Blunt in her collection as well.

The second season of GREY'S ANATOMY is out on DVD tomorrow, but that's not all... there's also a CD soundtrack, GREY'S ANATOMY: VOLUME 2, featuring 15 songs that appeared on the show, including an exclusive acoustic version of Snow Patrol's "Chasing Cars," which closed the season out in chilling fashion.

More:
Episode by episode tracklisting (ABC)

tags: playlist, music, soundtrack, greys anatomy, snow patrol, dressy bessy, the oc, rhapsody