Author Archives: Tom Muscarella

Song of the Week – Music in Films as Vehicles for Rock Stars

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In May of 2020, I started a series of posts under the theme of Rock Music in Films.  I notched eight posts in the series through May 2021.  But the series isn’t complete.  I have a few more ideas and today I resume after nine months – this time featuring films as vehicles for rock stars.

This idea was “invented” by Elvis Presley.  The Beatles and other British Invasion groups took advantage of the medium to enhance their popularity.  But those were all covered in earlier installments of the series.

Take note – my idea of films as vehicles for rock stars doesn’t include movies that simply star rock musicians.  The film has to feature their music as a key component.  So, Madonna’s Desperately Seeking Susan and David Bowie’s Labyrinth are out.  Bob Dylan’s music was critical to Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid, but his acting role was too insignificant to qualify as a vehicle for him.  That one’s out.  Mick Jagger starred in Performance and sang the excellent “Memo From Turner” but that’s his only song on the soundtrack.  Out.

So, what films do meet my criteria?  One great example is The Harder They Come (1972), starring Jimmy Cliff.  I know, this film features Reggae music not rock.  But by my definition, Cliff is a rock star!

The title tune is terrific, but the best song on the soundtrack is “Many Rivers to Cross.”

“MRtC” has a gospel feel and an amazing vocal performance.  It is even more spectacular when you consider the legend that it was recorded in one take at the end of a session where the backing musicians had never heard the song before!  In Wikipedia, Cliff is quoted as saying “I started singing, the band came in, and that was it.  Once.  That was it.”

“MRtC” has been covered by many stars – from Harry Nilsson to Linda Ronstadt.  You can’t keep a great song down.

Another super film that was a vehicle for a rock star was Prince’s Purple Rain (1984). I know, this film features funk and R&B music, not rock.  But by my definition, Prince is a rock star!

The title tune is terrific, but the best song on the soundtrack is “When Doves Cry.”

“WDC” was written as a metaphor (doves being the bird of peace) for the dysfunction in relationships – in this case, the discord between his mother and father coming full circle in his own relationship.

How can you just leave me standing
Alone in a world that’s so cold? (So cold)
Maybe I’m just too demanding
Maybe I’m just like my father, too bold
Maybe you’re just like my mother
She’s never satisfied (she’s never satisfied)
Why do we scream at each other?
This is what it sounds like
When doves cry

“WDC” received a wonderful cover by Patti Smith.  You can’t keep a great song down.

The underappreciated One Trick Pony (1980), by Paul Simon, was also a film vehicle for a rock star.  I know, many of you don’t consider Paul Simon a rock musician.  But by my definition, he is a rock star!

The key song on the soundtrack is “Late in the Evening.”

Steve Gadd’s drum groove and the spicy Cuban horn charts (arranged by Dave Grusin) drive it.  No one would dare cover it!

Enjoy… until next week.

Song of the Week – Time Won’t Let Me, The Outsiders

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In 1966 a band from Cleveland, OH scored a top 5 hit with “Time Won’t Let Me.”  That band was The Outsiders.

The song was a simple R&B influenced rocker that sounds of its time, yet also still sounds fresh today.  It is enhanced by a horn section.  I love the screaming trumpet at the end, played by session musician John Madrid.

“TWLM” was written by the band’s guitarist, Tom King, and his brother-in-law Chet Kelley.  It was sung by Sonny Geraci who later hit again as the vocalist on “Precious and Few” by Climax (1972).

Drummer Jimmy Fox, who later played in the James Gang with Joe Walsh, hit the skins for all but two of the songs on their debut album – one was “Time Won’t Let Me.”

I always thought “TWLM” had a Beatlesy sound to it.  Maybe that was just because it was released on the same Capitol, yellow and orange swirl label that graced so many Beatles’ hit singles.

It was covered by The Plimsouls (Peter Case), Iggy Pop, and The Smithereens, among others.

Enjoy… until next week.

Song of the Week – Dreaming of You, The Coral

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Today marks the 14th anniversary of the Song of the Week.  That represents over 725 posts and over 1,000 songs!  I hope you continue to find the topics interesting and the music enjoyable.  Thank you for reading and commenting on the posts.  I promise there will be more to come!

Twenty years ago, The Coral released their self-titled debut album.  It contained one of the catchiest songs I know – “Dreaming of You.”  Clocking in at 2:21, this is an economical piece of power pop.

There’s something about the chorus in “Dreaming of You” that reminds me of the middle section of “No Good to Cry” by the Wildweeds (SotW 10/20/2012).

The band – James Skelly (songwriting, vocals, guitar), brother Ian Skelly (drums), Paul Duffy (bass), Bill Ryder-Jones (guitar) & Lee Southall (guitar) – were schoolmates.  Later Nick Power was brought in on keyboards.

Ian Skelly once tweeted “Dreaming of you – I remember James writing this back when we were still in our teens.  Born out of a love of American doo-wop and Mersey Beat.  It nearly didn’t make the album for fear of becoming one-hit wonders.”

In MOJO 331, Paul Weller wrote of “Dreaming of You” — “One of James Skelly’s earliest compositions for the Wirral-ites details teenage longing as a glorious sing-along soul-shanty.  Showcase for the nascent skills of guitarist Bill Ryder-Jones.”

The album, and single “Dreaming of You” attained platinum status in the UK, but barely broke into the Top 200 in the US.  That’s a shame.

The band released their tenth album of original material – Coral Island – in 2021 and it is worth a listen.

Enjoy… until next week.

Song of the Week – Beggin’, Måneskin and The Four Seasons

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Måneskin is an Italian rock band that formed in 2016, released their debut album in 2018, but has only recently been making waves in English-speaking countries.

A song they recorded in 2017 was released in the US last year and peaked at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100.  “Beggin” has also notched over 875 million streams on Spotify!

This song rocks!

You may have seen Måneskin perform “Beggin’” last week on Saturday Night Live.

Hearing it led me to revisit the original version released by The Four Seasons fifty-five years ago, in February 1967.

This song rocks!

It is one of Frankie Valli’s best vocal performances – very soulful, with less saccharine and more dinge.  “Beggin’” was very popular in the ‘70s on the English Northern Soul circuit at dance clubs such as the famous Wigan Casino.

Enjoy… until next week.

Song of the Week – Back Door, Rhinoceros

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If any of you are vinyl record collectors (as I am) you can appreciate the joys of “crate digging” in thrift shops, garage sales, or used record stores.  For me, the greatest reward comes from buying an album I’ve never heard (or heard of), bringing it home, putting on the turntable for a spin, and finding out it’s a nugget!

Based on experience, I’ve learned a few tricks to increase the odds that I’ll take a flyer on a good record instead of a dog.  I look at the credits to see who was involved as session players, producers, or engineers.  What label is it on?

I bought an album by the band Rhinoceros because of the font used for the track listing on the back cover.  I recognized it from albums by Tom Rush, Tim Buckley, The Butterfield Blues Band, The Doors, and Love – all late 60s artists on Elektra.

Rhinoceros, it turns out, was a band of musicians that were auditioned, selected, and assembled by Elektra producers Paul Rothchild and Frazier Mohawk in 1967 to form a “supergroup.”  They released three albums that received critical accolades but sold poorly.  Perhaps the inorganic nature of the group’s formation rubbed the public the wrong way at a time when authenticity was a strongly held value.

But there’s no denying that the band could write, play and sing.  They were funky and soulful.  Three Dog Night and Rod Stewart both covered their recordings.  TDN cut a speeded-up “I Will (Let Me) Serenade You” on 1973’s Cyan.  Stewart included “You’re My Girl” as the closer on Gasoline Alley (1970).  Songs by Rhinoceros are frequently heard on Sirius XM’s Underground Garage playlists.

Today’s SotW is “Back Door” from the second Rhinoceros album, Satin Chickens (1969).  It’s an R&B workout that captures a funky groove.

Keep your eyes (and mind) open for cool records that you’ve never heard.  You may discover a gem.  Happy hunting!

Enjoy… until next week.

Song of the Week – Be My Baby, The Ronettes; You Mean So Much to Me, Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes; Take Me Home Tonight, Eddie Money

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Ronnie Spector (Veronica Bennett) died last Wednesday, January 12th, at the age of 78, after a brief bout with cancer.

As the lead singer of The Ronettes, she recorded a few of the true standards of Rock and Soul, including “Be My Baby”, “Baby, I Love You”, and “Sleigh Ride”, all with her future husband Phil Spector and employing his famous “wall of sound” production technique.

Her famous “Whoa-oh-oh” refrain was featured prominently in her collaboration with Southside Johnny & the Asbury Dukes on “You Mean So Much to Me”, written by Bruce Springsteen around the time of The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle sessions.

Later, in 1986, it is specifically called out in her duet with Eddie Money on “Take Me Home Tonight.”  His chorus says:

Take me home tonight
I don’t want to let you go ’til you see the light
Take me home tonight
Listen honey, just like Ronnie sang, “Be my little baby”

Her trademark “Whoa-oh-oh” has been imitated often by the likes of Elvis Costello (“Oliver’s Army”) and Bruce Springsteen (“Out in the Street”).

Ronnie’s impact and influence went way beyond her hits.  Her fashion aesthetic – beehive hairstyle, heavy mascara, and tight skirts – were the model for many female artists to come, among them Chrissie Hynde (The Pretenders) and Amy Winehouse.

RIP, Ronnie, you will be missed.

Enjoy… until next week.

Song of the Week – That Life, Unknown Mortal Orchestra

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Like many of you, as the year is coming to an end, I review the new music I discovered during the year to compile my “best of” list.  One of the songs I dropped onto my 2021 list was “That Life” by the Unknown Mortal Orchestra (UMO).  I simply like its vibe!

UMO originated from New Zealand but currently hail from Portland, Oregon. The core of the band is Ruban Nielson (lead vocals, guitar, drums, bass, piano, keyboards, synthesizers) and Jacob Portrait (bass, synths, backing vocals).

“That Life” was a single released by the band last August and addresses a life of luxury and indulgence.  In a press release that accompanied the single Nielson said:

I saw this painting by Hieronymus Bosch called The Garden of Earthly Delights and in the painting there was a mixture of crazy stuff going on, representing heaven, earth, and hell. When I was writing this song, “That Life,” I was imaging the same kind of “Where’s Waldo” (or “Where’s Wally” as we call it in New Zealand, Australia, and the UK) of contrasting scenes and multiple characters all engaged in that same perverse mixture of luxury, reverie, damnation, in the landscape of America. Somewhere on holiday under a vengeful sun.

The track’s cool video features a puppet created by puppeteer and fabricator Laura Manns (The Muppets and Sesame Street).

Enjoy… until next week.

Song of the Week – Linger, The Cranberries

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A teenaged Dolores O’Riordan walked into a rehearsal of The Cranberries, having been introduced to the rest of the band by their ex lead singer, Niall Quinn.  O’Riordan.  The rehearsal went well enough that when it ended, bandmate Noel Hogan handed her a cassette tape demo of some music he was working on and asked her to take a stab at writing lyrics for it.  She returned a week later with the group’s biggest hit, “Linger.”

O’Riordan has been known to claim the song was about her first serious kiss.  But to my ear it sounds like it about an ex-lover that’s keeping her hanging on.

But I’m in so deep
You know I’m such a fool for you
You got me wrapped around your finger
Do you have to let it linger?
Do you have to, do you have to, do you have to let it linger?

“Linger” carried the album it was on — Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? — to #1 in the UK, and to #18 in the US.  Their next several albums did even better, several earning multi-platinum status.  But it all started with “Linger.”

Enjoy… until next week.

Song of the Week – 7 O’Clock News/Silent Night, Simon & Garfunkel; Phoebe Bridgers feat. Fiona Apple and Matt Berninger

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In 1966, Simon & Garfunkel release a “song” titled “7 O’Clock News/Silent Night” on their album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme.

The track was intended to juxtapose the quiet, peacefulness of the traditional Christmas carol against the disturbing events that were dominating the news at that time.

Simon & Garfunkel sing “Silent Night” as a news broadcaster (voiced by announcer Charlie O’Donnell) summarizes the headlines of a mock report of events that actually occurred, though not all on the same day.  Mention is made of a civil rights march, the Vietnam War, and the Richard Speck mass murder of nurses (among others).

It has occurred to me many times over the years that this could be updated with equal effect every year since Simon & Garfunkel executed their concept.  In fact, in 2019, Phoebe Bridgers and Fiona Apple ran with the idea and recorded their own update, with The Nationals’ Matt Berninger taking the announcer’s role.

Their version addressed the Sackler family, of Purdue Pharma, avoiding criminal charges for their role as major contributors to the opioid crisis, the murder of Botham Jean, and the first Trump impeachment.

I hate to be such a bummer on this special day, but sometimes a dose of reality helps us to be grateful for all the joy in our lives.

Merry Christmas.  Peace on Earth.

Enjoy… until next week.

Song of the Week – In the Cage, Genesis

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Almost 50 years ago, in mid-November 1974, Genesis released their ambitions double album The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway.  I remember very clearly, listening to the album over the Thanksgiving break of my freshman year in college.  Is The Lamb the band’s shining moment or its final calamity with Peter Gabriel in the group?

In MOJO 316, writer Michael Putland summed it up saying today it “sounds sporadically brilliant, impenetrable, over-reaching and inspired.”

The back story is that Genesis began working on their sixth and final album with Gabriel in mid-1974.  The band decided to work at Headley Grange, the rural stone cottage made famous by Led Zeppelin for being the “recording studio” for parts of Led Zeppelin III, Led Zeppelin IV, Houses of the Holy, and Physical Graffiti.  The building was run-down, rat-infested, and some say haunted.  Making matters worse, personal/family turmoil surrounded the group – divorce, and pregnancy issues among them.

While there, Gabriel decided to take leave from (quit?) the band to work on a project with film director William Friedkin of The Exorcist fame.  While he was gone, the remaining group members continued to write and record music without lyrics.  When the Friedkin project went south, Gabriel rejoined the band to a mixed reception.  He lobbied to be the sole lyric writer for a concept he created, and prevailed.

A character named Rael, a Puerto Rican street denizen would be the protagonist in a semi-autobiographical rock opera that reflects Gabriel’s state of mind at the time.  Rael prowls the streets of New York looking for his missing brother.

Today’s SotW is “In the Cage”, one of the album’s highlights.

A review of The Lamb on the Classic Rock Review website says:

… the intro to “In the Cage” contains an exception link as it builds towards driving rhythms. The song itself builds tension with odd timings and beats, as all the instruments seem to be doing their own independent thing but yet somehow all jive together. There are exception rhythms by Rutherford and Collins and fantastic, multi-part leads by Banks in the long mid section. Noticing he is trapped in one of several linked cages, Rael sees his brother John for the first of several encounters that add metaphor to the deeper story.

When recording was finished Genesis went on tour to promote the album, playing it in its entirety.  After 102 performances, Gabriel quit the band – this time for good.

Guitarist Steve Hackett has said, “For some The Lamb… is absolute magic, for others an absolute tragedy.”  So what do you think?  Magic or tragedy?  I vote magic!

Enjoy… until next week.