GtrPlyr

The Beatles were known for mainly dabbling in pot and psychedelic drugs. Elliott was known for heroin use. Big difference in how those drugs affect creativity. And let's face it, Sgt. Pepper's wouldn't be nearly as great without the work of George Martin, who helped them shape the songs into sonic masterpieces. Without the help of him--the non-stoned guy in the room--they'd probably still be trying to tune the sitar, and we'd be betting on whether Sgt. Pepper's was going to be released before, or after Chinese Democracy. Have great works of art been created under the influence? Most d

Thought I'd pop in another Morris DVD last night. One of the extras on the DVD was an episode of "First Person." Typical Morris... looks good .

To say someone is made brilliant due to drug or drink is quite erroneous, as often it has the opposite effect on creative powers. It's hard to be creative when you're out of your skull, or nodding off due to your last heroin fix. No, I'd venture to say that Elliott Smith was a good songwriter despite the drugs, not because of them. As for the depression, well that would definitely color the lyrics and would explain a leaning toward minor keys, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't have been a good songwriter without said condition.

I saw a few episodes of this about a month ago. Very funny stuff! Thanks for the link, I'll have to catch up on the ones I've missed.

So much for the one per person idea...

Talking Heads

Great record! I should probably check out the expanded reissue sometime.

That's fantastic. I love Alejandro--Gravity is one of my favorite records ever.

Unfortunately I never caught that series when it aired. I've seen most of Morris' other work--one of my favorite documentary filmmakers--so I'm definitely interested in seeing it. Hopefully I'll come across it at the Library or video store sometime. How does this series rate with his film work?

You gotta love Errol Morris.

The Pretty Things - S.F. Sorrow

I think they were sort of going for the philosophical nature of a 2001 with the action of an Aliens. It didn't quite get there on either account. Nevertheless it was a decent enough sci-fi film.

There's some good stuff to pick from already. I'll avoid the more obvious ones (Marvin, Smokey, Aretha, Curtis, James) and throw out a few other favorites of mine: Millie Jackson - Millie Jackson, Caught Up/Still Caught Up Bill Withers - Still Bill Chairmen of the Board - s/t Doris Duke - I'm a Loser: The Swamp Dogg Sessions... and more The Baby Huey Story - The Living Legend Charles Wright - Express Yourself Sly & the Family Stone - There's a Riot Goin' On, Fresh, Stand... Terry Callier - What Color Is Love, Occasional Rain Funkadelic - Music for Your Mother (of course their whole cata

I'll go with the early period circa 1982 - 1988 (Grandmaster Flash, Run DMC...) I did get into a bit of De la Soul, P.E, and Beasties for a time too. As for the new stuff I've heard, well, for the most part it all seems to be shallow and self-aggrandizing. Also, the sampling of whole songs as the basis of your track is pretty uninspired and lame (that's right, I'm looking at you Kanye and Puffy.) C'mon, leave those Mayfield, Sly Stone, Brown and Clinton records alone for a bit and write some of your own grooves.

I will have to check out those other movies. The Dylan story is pretty cinematic just as a straight story. Clint Eastwood made a mess of the Charlie Parker story, another great story that needed little help to be compelling. So I guess we shall see. LouieB Safe and Far From Heaven* are pretty great, so hopefully he can knock another one out with this Dylan picture. * I would also recommend checking out Fassbinder's Ali: Fear Eats the Soul and Sirk's All That Heaven Allows, as Far From Heaven is basically a reworking of those 2 great films.

There's some great ones there already. Here's a few more Summer of Love suggestions: Otis Redding - Try a Little Tenderness Moby Grape - Fall on You, Hey Grandma Simon & Garfunkel - Mrs. Robinson The Beatles - All You Need Is Love

I remember seeing Teenage Head back in the late 80's at some mid-sized club. I've never had my ears ring as badly as I did that night. A friend of mine also got hurt slam dancing at the show... ah, good times!

I watched "You're Gonna Miss Me" the other day and felt the need to hear some more Roky.

One of my all-time favorite films. It was nice to watch this on DVD after years of watching it on a poor quality VHS tape.

First off, what a great present. I love the Tele, Les Paul, ES-335, Ricks... but I would love to get one of these:

I stopped reading/subscribing to RS sometime in the mid 90's. Around the time I discovered music magazines that were more relevant and eclectic in their content. RS is too mainstream and commercially driven to allow for coverage of important or overlooked artists in general. You're better off reading The Big Takeover, No Depression, Paste, Magnet, Harp; all of them are miles ahead of RS.

I haven't listened to this one in quite some time. I guess the "You are my Face = Hello Sunshine by Relatively Clean Rivers" inspired my choice.

I haven't listened to that RCR record in a while. I think I'll put it on later and see if I can spot the similarities.