Rock Town Hall • Rock Music Discussion

Dennis Leary as Dennis Wilson in Love & Mercy

Jul 072015

Dennis Leary (far right) as Dennis Wilson.

There was much to take in during a recent screening of the Brian Wilson biopic Love & Mercy, which Townsman E. Pluribus Gergely and I took in over the weekend. My overall critique appeared yesterday and is still open to discussion, but I plan on spending the rest of this week examining some of the finer points of the film. Today I’d like to discuss the troubling casting of a young Dennis Leary as Dennis Wilson as well as the broader issues I had with other casting decisions in regard to the ’60s-era Beach Boys.

I’ve grown to like Dennis Leary over the years, although I found his entire act entirely contrived when he burst on the scene with his MTV faux-chain-smoking rants. (He never looked like he inhaled, did he? Bogus!) Anyhow, Leary grew on me a bit when he followed up his failed fallen cop show with that fallen fireman show, Rescue Me. For the first time he struck me as actually passionate about something: himself playing this character. The show and Leary’s commitment too it were absurdly sincere. Although I rarely appreciated the show at anywhere but chuckling arm’s length, the peak into Leary’s humble freak aspirations helped me appreciate him and his act. It was an impressive run.

Even more impressive is how Leary transformed himself into a young man for his role in Love & Mercy. The problem, however, is twofold:

Movie Review: Say Anything 2: The Healing of Brian Wilson

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Jul 062015

Brian plays Melinda his early sketch of “Lick My Love Pump.”

There’s a scene early in Say Anything 2: The Healing of Brian Wilson, in which John Cusack’s Brian attempts to find the condo of his new infatuation and future wife, Melinda Ledbetter (Elizabeth Banks) by walking in circles and calling her name up to the dozen balconies overlooking the courtyard of her complex. I kept expecting Cusack to pull out a boombox and serenade his new infatuation with Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes.” There were some strong scenes in Say Anything 2, when the story inexplicably strayed from the middle-aged exploits of our hero, Lloyd Dobler, and zoomed back to the 1960s, to follow a confusing parallel tale of a brilliant, troubled musician during the creation of his band’s masterpiece, Pet Sounds, but the Dobler-Ledbetter second-chance-at-love scenes, set anachronistically around the same time as the original film’s timeframe, could not have been what any fans of the original Cameron Crowe classic were expecting!

Love & Mercy Week!

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Jul 062015

This week on Rock Town Hall we will take an in-depth look at the Brian Wilson biopic Love & Mercy. My thoughts—and I’m guessing yours—are too vast to contain in a single thread. This is a film that demands consideration on multiple angles, so multiple threads it will be. Stay tuned, as discussion kicks off later today! In the meantime, if you haven’t seen the movie already, at least watch the trailer a few times.

All-Star Jam

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Jun 252015

Magic Alex sighting at the 7:45 mark. Now, if only we could relocate our very own Alexmagic!

Job, Track 2

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Jun 242015

Get a job!

Our Mystery Artist, BD, supplies the following notes on today’s track:

“I Just Sit There” is, I think, the hit single from the Job album. It’s tight, succinct, and to-the-point. It also features some great words, co-written with a long-time collaborator who is a member of the RTH family, I believe. I’ll let him speak up and take credit for his contributions if he wants to. In fact, to be clear, he made tweaks to a lot of the word-age you’ll hear throughout the album, and I’ve frankly forgotten where his contributions start and end. So consider him a full-on album co-author if you want. I do remember that one of my favorite lines in the entire album was penned by this guy, and it’s in this song: “I can tell you I once used to care; now my world is depressing a chair.” Brilliant!

I Just Sit There

To the issue of the backstory: Hrrundivbakshi is largely correct. In this era of online everything-ism, creating an identity that sounds like you’re a secret job-hater who only works to earn money is a very bad thing if you’re in management, which our artist is/was. And even if these songs are not entirely true to life, but rather simply inspired by some of the worst moments in it — the HR professional that stumbles upon them during the inevitable Google name search will not understand that.

Anyhow, thanks for the kind words, and for asking to hear more. Follow along as more details about our hero are revealed. Will he fall in love? Get fired? Kill himself? Or find redemption? All these questions and more will be answered.

Blinded Challenge

Posted by trolleyvox

Jun 232015

There are many things I don’t give much thought to. Yet today, “One of Our Submarines Is Missing” by Thomas Dolby, popped into my head. I loved this song when I first heard it and I still enjoy it in all its Ur New Wave production frippery. I even remember that it did not appear on the US release of Dolby’s breakout album, though it was on the (much pricier) UK version. Then I tried to recall other favorite Dolby tunes. “She Blinded Me With Science” is the obvious one, as imprinted in all of us as a Motown hit. “Europa and the Pirate Twins” still stirs psychic zephyrs of of breezy longing for a innocent love that I maybe experienced in the briefest of flashes in my late teens and early 20s. Then I tried to remember other Dolby songs. I couldn’t. I can’t. Ok, maybe “Radio Silence,” but I’d argue that’s just good, not great.

The challenge is not to look up Thomas Dolby songs on Google. The challenge is to come up with a Dolby song or songs that you think are as defensibly great as the three as I mentioned above, and then defend your choice(s) in the Hall like a gentleman with a one spectacle eye glass and some unnecessary though fetching steampunk headwear. Bonus points to Dolby for being an early progenitor of the Steampunk look. Bro-wear, such as khaki or relaxed fit, get no such bonus points.

Once and for All…What’s the Best Song About Summer?

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Jun 222015

We’ve spent many summers in the Halls of Rock, yet I don’t believe we’ve ever determined…once and for all…the best song about summer. Not your favorite song about summer, but the best, objectively speaking, according to the following criteria—and probably then some:

Groove that most feels like summer (real summer, not that winter-like summer I hear they experience south of the equator)
Lyrics that best represent summer experiences and observations
Appropriateness for all summer activities, regardless of individual tastes and north-of-the-equator geography
Evocative power of the song title
Most appropriate complimentary image of performing artist

I look forward to settling this debate…once and for all.

Older Entries Newer Entries