My good friend NY John at work is always a bastion of interesting Rock'n Roll info and anecdotes. I miss talking to him on a daily basis, when he'd drop by my department at work to vent about corporate moronity and we'd eventually segue into talking about the Stones, Talking Heads, Television, etc. While in the office the other day, he told me to cue up Led Zeppelin's The Rain Song, and upon the intonation of that first, iconic note, he related that he'd read an interview with Jimmy Page where he said he took the chord from The Beatles (I'll let you determine which song). Anyway, hearing just that one chord made me want to hear the entire song, and hearing the entire song, I had to spin House of the Holy and Physical Graffiti in their entirety. I feel a Zeppelin jag coming on. Been a while, and I'm pretty eager to sink into it. Being that I bonded with the band's music at a pretty young, formative age, I feel as though those times when I'm under their spell, my brain works differently. It'll be nice to feel that old familiar "Led Zeppelin" brain again. Also, this is probably my favorite song by the band (although on any given day I might give you an entirely different answer. Fitting, this track, as it's been raining in LaLaLand more consistently than I'd seen in some years when I lived here.
Watch:
Monday and Tuesday of last week I was able to sneak in a couple of really cool LA theatre jaunts. When in Rome, right? First, courtesy of the always amazing Cinematic Void, my Horror Vision cohost Ray and I saw a pretty damn nice 35 mm print of Popcorn at the Los Feliz 3 Theatre:
This was fantastic, especially since A) Ray gifted me a Popcorn t-shirt and, B) I got to see Cinematic Void guru Jim Branscome interview Popcorn's star Jill Schoelen after the film.
Then last night, Ray and I got to attend Pi Day, 25th anniversary of Darren Aronofsky's landmark debut film Pi. Even better, before the film, Aronofsky, Star Sean Gullette, Producer Eric Watson, Cinematographer Matthew Libatique, Composer Clint Mansell and actor Stanley Herman (subway singer) spoke about the film at length. Talk about inspiring.
I haven't watched this one in a while despite the fact that I carry a very tangible love for it with me on an almost day-to-day basis. It's been at least 15 years since I last watched Pi, and I found I remembered it pretty much verbatim. Also, hearing Mansell's score now, I realize it was that which pushed me into really exploring electronic music back in the day. Everything about this one is iconic.
Playlist:
Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti
Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy
Damone - From the Attic
Danko Jones - We Sweat Blood
Motörhead - Ace of Spades
The Police - Outlandos d'Amour
The Police - Regatta de Blanc
Thus Love - Memorial
Soul Coughing - El Oso
The Pogues - Rum Sodomy and the Lash
House of Pain - Same As It Ever Was
Pestilence - Consuming Impulse
Le Butcherettes - A Raw Youth
Deftones - Koi No Yokan
Screaming Females - Desire Pathway
Spotlights - Seance EP
