Thursday, April 10, 2008

Bad words, brilliant sounds

While I was working on finishing up artwork recently youtube kept me company.
Way back when I was about eight or so I got obsessed with 'Tommy' (and 'Yellow Submarine' now I think about it). No idea why, not even looking at it now can I get my head round why I had to rewatch the duff copy that happened to be taped of the telly (I think, forgive my hazy memory), but I did. Anyway, here's some musical highlights.
See Me Feel Me/Listening To You, a key song at the end of the film, and inspired by Meher Baba. I rediscovered this song late one night in the 80's when Channel4 did a film/music season (I also got to see Under Cherry Moon - awesome sound track, uh, not much else. Oh, and Johnny Staccato too, which I'd love to see again) and this version transfixed me.

I hated this sement from Tommy, it's horrible, but so is a lot of the film and I still had to watch. And I couldn't watch Just Good Friends without thinking of it.

I don't like Elton John, Saturday's Alright (For Fighting) is pretty good, but I just don't get this supposed song writing genius. His version of Pinball Wizard though? Brilliant.

The song that stands out amongst some stand out songs, and a cover version that got utterly owned belongs to Tina Turner and her electrifying performance on 'Acid Queen'. A few years later, after my copy of Tommy mysteriously got taped over (another obsession of mine, 'The Assassination Bureau' (check the Oliver reed connection)met a similar fate at the hands of parents who probably wanted the telly back), I managed to tape the song from a segment of The Tube - weirdly there's and odd sound effect near the end of Tina's performance that lead directly into another song I taped and as soon as I heard the sound I expected the song to play..... so it's on after Tina.


I posted that one before, 'The Bushes Scream While My Daddy Prunes' by The Very Things (who I've decided are like The Cramps, without the sex, and from the midlands), but frankly it's brilliant so I don't mind posting it again.
Sorry about my musical trip down memory lane, but my brains fried, I felt like posting something and thought I'd avoid comics for a change:) At least the music's good though.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Who: genius.

Nuff said.

Andrew Glazebrook said...

I love the school bully segment of Tommy,seen Billy Idol do it once but he wasn't a patch on Paul Nicholas.