Brookswords

Professor Elvis

In Elvis Presley's '68 Comeback Special, there came a point where he had to address the fact that, after almost a decade of making bad movies, he'd been eclipsed by the Beatles and all that had come after them. By 1968 he was largely seen as an anachronism. He was all too aware of the shallowness of his movies -- he once said "the only thing worse than watching a bad movie is being in one".

But after bringing up the Beatles, he...changed the subject! He launched into a little lesson on the roots of Rock n' Roll, pointing out that it grew out of Gospel and Rhythm & Blues. It was an eye-opening revelation to me as I watched at home. Within days I bought a B.B. King record, which lead to a life-long interest in roots music. Here's that section of the Comeback Special, which was, to me -- as much as I enjoyed hearing him sing his old hits -- the heart and soul of the show.

Sita Sings the Blues

A cartoonist is informed, via email, that her marriage is over--and, after finding "solace in the sweet-voiced jazz stylings of Annette Hanshaw and the Ramayana" goes on to create, on her computer, a film that rivals the very best in animation. As the LA Weekly put it, "Pixar has nothing on Nina Paley's India-influenced animated musical for adults", and this homemade film is now #42 on IMDb's list of the "50 Best Musicals of All Time". Sita Sings the Blues has been available for online free viewing for awhile. (It can be found on here on Roger Ebert's website. On Twitter today, he called this film "a legend of indie filmmaking.) As of today, it has a perfect score of 100% at Rotten Tomatoes. Sita Sings the Blues has to be one of the most culturally diverse works I've ever come across; it successfully mixes together 1920's jazz, the complicated love story between Sita and Rama from India's Ramayana, and a starring character who is a new incarnation of Betty Boop--lip-syncing to Annette Hanshaw's bluesy vocals. If nothing else, Sita displays the universality of pain, loss and redemption.

 

 

Howlin' at the Moon

    Elvis Presley became a professor of sorts to me when, as a kid, I heard him say during his 1968 comeback special that rock n' roll was just basically rhythm and blues. It was a revelation to me; devoted as I was to rock n' roll, I soon made a beeline to a record store & bought a BB King record. (Strangely enough, my payroll checks from LAUSD call me 'BB Ammerman'. I tell office clerks that I'm singin' the blues about my income.)

    I loved the record I found--a true classic, 'Live at the Regal'--but soon sought out more hardcore blues, the kind that never wound up on the Tonight show. Here are two choice selections, both by Howlin' Wolf; the first, 'Killing Floor', established a career for the guitarist brought in at the last minute, Buddy Guy. The second is both paranoid & confessional -- how many songs bemoan the loss of a love & then admit 'I'm the causin' of it all'?'

Howlin Wolf - Killing Floor

Howlin Wolf - Who's Been Talkin'