Weirdos

Weirdos

2016 Canadian drama directed by Bruce McDonald,
written by Daniel MacIvor;

starring Dylan Authors, Julia Sarah Stone,
Molly Parker, Rhys Bevan-John

Toronto International Film Festival (tiff) world premiere

tiff Bell Lightbox, Toronto

September 9, 2016

by Live Music Head

The place?

A boy’s bedroom in Antigonish, Nova Scotia.

The time?

Summer, 1976.

His name?

Kit.

What’s he doing?

Listening to Caribou, an album by Elton John.

It’s the opening scene,

and I instantly relate.

For I too was an Elton John fan in 1976.

I too hung out in my bedroom listening to his records.

In fact, when my parents,

who were born and raised in Nova Scotia,

took me on vacation to Glace Bay,

I bought my first album with my very own money there:
Elton John’s Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy.

I was 12, and it was 1975.

But Kit is 15 in the film, a few years older,

and Andy Warhol is his spirit animal.

Shot in black & white.

Kit also wears plaid pants and carries a suitcase.

I wore plaid in ‘76 when I fanatically followed the Bay City Rollers.

“I Guess The Lord Must Be in New York City.”

And Mother, Jugs and Speed was on the marquee.

While Kit hitchhikes from Antigonish to Sydney,

by way of the Cabot Trail,

with his girlfriend Alice dressed in an Edward Bear t-shirt,

they find themselves in a car with John Dunsworth.

You know Mr. Lahey from the Trailer Park Boys?

And yes, he was drunk.
I hitchhiked when I was a teen.
Well, until I got picked up by those Jesus freaks.

“This is the last song I'll ever sing for you.
You'll come looking for the light,
and it won't be there.
But I love you.
Oh, yes I do.
Yes, I do.”

In this new, off-beat coming-of-age story by Daniel MacIvor,

Kit and Alice are on their way to see Kit’s mother Laura

(played by Molly Parker, in a remarkable performance),

and hoping for a little adventure on the side.

Why doesn't Laura live with her teenage son in Antigonish?

Think Chelsea Hotel.

The relationship, or lack thereof, that Kit has with his mother

reminds me of the relationship, or lack thereof,

that John Lennon had with Julia.

This film also has a soundtrack I can really relate to.
Because yes, as you can probably tell,
I'm a Weirdo too.

“Which Way You Goin', Billy?
Can I go too?
Which way you goin' Billy?
Can I go with you?”

Ahhh, the Poppy Family!

Finding My Way by RUSH, to name another.

Cotton Ginny by Gordon Lightfoot.

Oh, What a Feeling by Crowbar.

Snow Bird by Anne Murray.

Down By The Henry Moore by Murray McLaughlin.

And Carry Me by The Stampeders,

a band I heard on the radio a lot
while skate boarding as a kid,

on the driveway out front of my parent’s suburban home.

“Ain't it good?
Ain't it right?
That you are with me, here tonight?
The music playin', our bodies swayin' in time.
(In time, in time, in time).”

Andy Kim!

Cigarettes, stubby beer bottles, and grave yards, too.

Yea, I started smoking at 13,

and didn’t quit until I was 37.

As a teen, I drank from stubby beer bottles hanging out under bridges,

and drove into a cemetery snow bank, high on acid.

“Hold fast, hold on.
Nothing is a dream, yet in changing faster,
it never seems to be here long.
Move on, turn 'round.
Just can't seem to find it.

Try and reach out, hold out.
I cannot touch the wind,
I touch you.”

FM!
CHUM Charts, rotary telephones, and Corelle dishware.

I’ve got my finger on my third eye,

remembering all the moments.
Thank you Bruce McDonald.

Can we get some fries?

Weirdos at TIFF…

http://www.tiff.net/films/weirdos/

As Seen on TV: The K-tel Story

As Seen on TV: The K-tel Story
and the death of founder Philip Kives
by Live Music Head


If you grew up in the 1970s and watched television,
you’ve definitely heard of K-tel.
If you grew up in the 1970s and watched television,
it’s highly unlikely you could ever forget them.
Your home may even have contained some of them K-tel gadgets.
I know ours did!
And you definitely owned at least one K-tel album,
prob'ly nine.
Today, Philip Kives, the founder of K-tel
passed away,
and it reminded me of his fascinating story
that I learned more about when I saw this
TV documentary a few years ago:
As Seen on TV: The K-tel Story.
I highly recommend finding it and sitting down to watch it
in its entirety.
But in the meantime, if you go to the clip below
and click around the 1:15 mark,
you’ll learn just how Philip Kives began marketing
the first compilation record
and the enormous success that became K-tel Records.
It was a vinyl revolution!
Here, The Guess Who’s Randy Bachman
talks about what K-tel meant to him,
and oh,
the story K-Tel’s producer Don Reedman tells…
about what it took to get Elton John, ha!
I particularly liked seeing the Record Selector again
(we had one)
and seeing Bob Washington,
the voice behind those ads that,
again,
no one who grew up in the 1970s and watched television
could ever forget.
We all know it was K-tel that inspired
so many great comedy sketches by SCTV and Saturday Night Live,
including the voice,
by Don Pardo.
For those with a love-on for 1970s nostalgia,
this documentary will bring you great joy…


As Seen on TV: The K-tel Story... 

Philip Kives, founder of K-tel dies
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/entertainment/music/philip-kives-founder-of-k-tel-dead-at-87-377361531.html

The official K-tel website...
http://www.ktel.com/

Elton John: Live on the Sunset Strip

Elton John
the pop up gig on the Sunset Strip
by Live Music Head

Elton John played a pop-up gig on Saturday
for free
on the Sunset Strip.
It was a thank you to West Hollywood,
that city in California
who’s played host to all his AIDS benefits
and Oscar parties over the years.
And I like that he chose the old Tower Records parking lot
as the concert location.
The ol’ record store sign still hangs there
on the side of the abandoned, and legendary building.
Did you know that Elton John shopped for his records at Tower
back in the 1970s?
That’s the fact that got me excited the most
when he was seen doing just that
in the new documentary film
All Things Must Pass:
The Rise and Fall of Tower Records.
The film shows Elton roaming the Tower aisles
just around the time
Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy came out.
And that was the first album I ever bought with my own money.
Had I been living in L.A. back in ’75,
Tower surely woulda been my local record shop too.
And I got excited thinking about how excited I woulda been
at the age of 12
running into him there.
Ahhhhh!
Elton John: "I'm particularly proud to be playing in the parking lot
of one of my favourite buildings of all time,
the old Tower Records store.
I could probably have bought Los Angeles with
the money I spent in Tower Records."
I wasn’t available to watch this pop-up concert
when it was streaming live on AOL,
but thanks to Youtube,
I watched the entire thing today.
Yay!
He opened with The Bitch is Back,
the same song that plays every time I walk into a room.
Double-yay!!
And oh, how instantly emotional I got
seeing original band members like Nigel Olsson
rockin' the drums in a suit,
and hammin’ it up for the cameras.
And Davey Johnstone.
Oh, how I love, love, looooooove his Captain Fantastic guitar!
I’d like to say Levon was my favourite from the set list.
After all, that balloon seller called his child Jesus
‘cuz he liked the name.
But the one that got me the most was Your Song.
How could it not?
Speaking of Jesus,
Jesus!
It's such an incredibly moving song,
even after all these years.
Or,
no,
it’s because it’s after all these years

that makes it so moving.
That,
and because it’s an incredibly moving song!
EJ introduced Your Song with a reminder
that he played it at the Troubadour Club on Santa Monica Blvd,
his first ever gig in the United States of America,
back in 1970.
Unlike Tower Records,
the Troubadour is still operating in the same West Hollywood spot.
And Elton dedicated the song to Howard Rose
who was his agent back in the 70s,
and still is today.
Elton John has a new album out,

Wonderful Crazy Night,
which, doing a pop-up gig like this

gave a great opportunity to promote.
The stand-out song from the new one I thought
was A Good Heart.
Is there a star any bigger than Elton John?
I think not.
He’s a Superstar!
Not even the star that is Lady Gaga,
who joined him on the pop-up stage
to make a duet out of
Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me,
(that incredibly moving song from Caribou)
could outshine him.
How wonderful life is while Elton John’s in the world.

The video of Elton John: Live on The Sunset Strip...

The Set List

The Bitch is Back
Bennie and the Jets
Lookin' Up
Blue Wonderful
Levon
Rocket Man
Your Song
Tiny Dancer
A Good Heart
Wonderful Crazy Night
Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me (with Lady Gaga)
Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting

The official Elton John website...

http://www.eltonjohn.com/

The website for All Things Must Pass:
The Rise and Fall of Tower Records...

http://www.towerrecordsmovie.com/

Comedians in Cars Doing Karaoke with Elton John

Comedians in Cars
Doing Karaoke with Elton John
by Live Music Head

From trains in London 

to cars in Los Angeles,

the greatness of Elton John has been

gettin’ around my news feed today!

And I particularly like the “la… la la la la la’s

during Crocodile Rock.

But I do believe, Mr. John,

you momentarily forgot the words to

I’m Still Standing.

But hell, at least you’re still standing!

Yea! Yea! Yea!

Not only still standing at 68-years young,

but still rockin’!!

The question is, however…

WHY COULDN'T THIS HAVE BEEN

HOW I GOT TO WORK THIS MORNING?!

Seriously.

Jesus.

Why didn’t you pick me up James?

This is my kinda road trip!

AND WHY THE HELL COULDN’T I 

HAVE COME UP WITH  THE IDEA OF 

“COMEDIANS IN CARS DOING KARAOKE WITH ELTON JOHN”? 

After all,

Reginald Kenneth Dwight was my husband-to be

when I was 8.

And he still has the energy of a 20-year-old boy,

(oh joy, just the way I like ‘em),

telling James Corden that:

“once you stop, you die”

and

“you’re not too old to do anything.”

Absolutely, god damn f#@ing right, mister!

Don’t Let The Sun Go Down on Me!!!

By the way,

if I was drivin’ that car Reg,

I would definitely have kidnapped ya.

And if I were conducting the interview,

not Corden,

my most important question would be…

“Why Is It After Listening to Tiny Dancer Like 3,457 Billion Times

During the Last Few Decades,

AND With Lyrics of Songs Always Being So Important to Me,

I Stupidly Thought It Was... ‘You had a visitor today’ 

NOT ‘You had a busy day, today’?

‘You had a visitor today’ is what always 

comes outta my mouth when I sing along to it, Elton.

How could I be such an idiot? Tell me that!”

I’m an idiot.

But this has been the best 11 minutes and 37 seconds

of my day so far...

Carpool Karaoke with Elton John...

Earlier...

Elton John gifted a Yamaha B3 to a London railway station.
And then, "Surprise!!”
He popped by St. Pancras International to christen it,
by playin’ it,
and bringing joy to all them commuters…

The official website for Elton John...
http://www.eltonjohn.com/

Super Duper Alice Cooper

Super Duper Alice Cooper

2014 documentary on the life of shock rocker Alice Cooper

directed by Reginald Harkema, Scot McFadyen, Sam Dunn

Hotdocs screening in Toronto

by Live Music Head

 

   

In each of us,

there is a war between good and evil.

Hello! Hooray!
Let this Doc Opera begin,
I’ve been ready.
Narrated by the same voice
as that of one of the greatest rock vocalists of the 1970s,
the new documentary based on his life;
the life of the legendary Godfather of Shock Rock,
was screened this week
at the Hotdocs international film festival in Toronto,
a Canadian city he's had a life-long relationship with.
Vincent Damon Furnier was born an American
on February 4, 1948
in that great rock and roll Michigan city called Detroit,
about a five-hour's drive from Toronto.
His father was a preacher.
His grandfather too.
So the belief in the power of God
was instilled in skinny Vinny at a very young age.
But like most young people,
Furnier couldn’t wait to get far, far away,
from his church-going hometown
as soon as he was old enough.
Upon discovering rock and roll,
he found his way out,
indeed.
Alice Cooper was born from a Ouija board,
and Vincent Furnier was left behind for oh,
I dunno,
about two decades.
Two decades where life was all about rock and roll,
sex,
and drugs.
There simply was no time for church.
My earliest memory of Alice Cooper
was hearing about how he hung himself on stage
from my older brother
who was old enough to see him in concert back in the 70s,
when I was not.
And that he got his head cut off in a guillotine too.
Cooper drew from horror movies he had seen
and vaudeville
to become the pioneer of grand theatrical rock shows,
and concept albums,
the covers of which were often seen
propped up against the record player
in my family home.
And then there were the photos.
Photos of him posing with a boa constrictor,
shirtless.
As a teen who had not yet had sex,
I was fascinated by these photos of him shirtless
because they showed a scar running down from his navel,
down inside that part of his pants
that also peeked my curiosity.
It wasn’t until much later that I learned
he got that scar as a kid,
from a bout with appendicitis/peritonitis
that nearly killed him.
All I wanted to do was run my tongue along it.
Because All the Young Girls Love Alice!
Elton John too,
who was in the audience that night
at that Hollywood Bowl concert,
trying to catch a pair of them panties
that rained down from a helicopter
upon the Alice Cooper crowd. 
You see,
once Frank Zappa, The GTOs, and Shep Gordon
got hold of Alice Cooper in the city of Los Angeles,
they turned the band into a household name
that saw all the little pretties wanting to lose their virginity
to School's Out,
with boys who wore eye makeup just like them.
And this scared the bejesus out of every parent across the land.
Made some boyfriends jealous too.
The GTOs dressed the band to look like demented Barbie dolls.
Zappa produced their first record
and had them open up for The Mothers of Invention.
And Gordon became their manager.
The manager who made sure they topped
every outrageous thing they did.
The same manager who wore the t-shirt that said:
"No head, no back stage pass".
It was also Gordon who got them that gig
at the now-legendary 1969 Varsity Stadium show in Toronto
known as the Rock and Roll Revival.
This became the show where Cooper truly alienated
not only every parent across the land,
but any trippy hippy that may still have been
floating through his audience since ‘67.
By killing a chicken.
But it wasn’t him that killed it.
It was killed by assholes in the audience.
Where are they now I wonder?
Myself, I like to think that Cooper never would have
tossed that bird from the stage
had he realized it wouldn’t fly away.
For I'm a rock and roll hippy chick vegetarian
who loves Alice Cooper.
And what allegedly transpired in the audience
after he threw it
is one of the most despicable rock and roll stories
I have ever heard.
And not in the least bit funny to me.
I prefer seeing him cut the heads off plastic babies.
Billion Dollar Babies!
My favourite album,
followed by Love It To Death,
notably because of the drumming.
Neal Smith’s drumming on these two albums
is some of the best I’ve ever heard.
Albums that were produced by Toronto-born Bob Ezrin.
Super Duper Alice Cooper is great at documenting
what life was like for the great rock icon and his band
during the making of these albums;
the crazy tours that were designed to sell them,
and the drinking and drug-taking that made it all possible.
It’s quite simply a must-see for any fan of rock and roll,
despite how well you may know the story.

LMH with Reginald Harkema
(director, Super Duper Alice Cooper)

And speaking of Elton John,
his song writing partner,
the great Bernie Taupin
hung out with Coop in his pool house
after he returned from alcohol-detox.
They wrote songs together
about Coop’s stint in the sanitarium.
But although Cooper got off drinking,
there was always cocaine.
A necessary substance if he was to keep up
with the likes of The Ramones,
and The Sex Pistols.
Or so he thought.
Bernie left the pool house.
And a riot erupted at CNE Stadium in Toronto.
Welcome to his Nightmare.
Vince’s mother and father heard the call from Phoenix.
So did his God from above,
the Lord,
Jesus Christ.
Help!
Cooper went down for the next several years,
staying off the road, and far away from partying.

A clean and sober Vince Furnier emerged
who came to the conclusion that
the Salvador Dali-inspired character he created
to allow him to express the dark side we all have,
was killing him.
And Vince wanted to live.
Unless he wanted to end up like Jim, Janis and Jimi,
Alice Cooper was no longer allowed to live in his world.
And that was fine with Alice.
He didn’t care to live in Vince’s house anyway.
He didn’t want to be married.
And he didn’t want to be a father.
He preferred the stage.
And so Alice Cooper returned to the stage,
the Joe Louis Arena stage in Detroit to be exact,
where he received thunderous applause from his fans.
It was broadcast live on MTV.
Re-claiming the wife and child he temporarily lost along the way,
Vincent Damon Furnier took up golf,
and is born again.


The trailer for Super Duper Alice Cooper...

The official website for Alice Cooper...
http://www.alicecooper.com/ 

Hotdocs 
Canadian  International Documentary Film Festival...
http://www.hotdocs.ca/

Elton John at the ACC

Elton John at The ACC

Toronto
February 6, 2014

by Live Music Head

OMG, it’s Elton John!

Hello there, God of Song!
I wanted to marry you when I was 8!

Sigh.

Now to re-live the show

through the awesome set list...

FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND/LOVE LIES BLEEDING

A perfect opener!

BENNIE AND THE JETS

This song never gets old. 

Aloha, Bobby and Rose!

CANDLE IN THE WIND 

My heart is ripped out.

And side one of the record never sounded so good!

GREY SEAL

"Tell me... how does it feel?
To be so wise. 

To see through eyes that only see what's real?
Tell me Grey Seal!"

LEVON 

OMG! The guy who called his child Jesus!

TINY DANCER 

Farewell Philip Seymour Hoffman.

We’ll miss you!

HOLIDAY INN

A waltz! Shall we dance?

One two three, one two three.

MONA LISAS AND MAD HATTERS

Davey Johnstone and Nigel Olsson are here.

Two originals on stage,

and Elton is singing my name! 

But I’m still missin’ Ray Cooper.

BELIEVE

This one means a lot to him.

It reflects his true beliefs.

PHILADELPHIA FREEDOM

Where's Billie Jean? 

Billie Jean King, where you at?

GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD

It’s the title track 

of one of the greatest albums ever recorded.

And to honour the 40th anniversary of its release,

a re-mastered treatment is set to be issued next month, 

on Reginald Kenneth Dwight’s birthday.

But right now there’s a giant version of the album's cover

hanging above my head...

ROCKET MAN 

Where’s Captain Cock?

I mean Kirk! 

He's smoking!!

HEY, AHAB

Leon Russell's not here.

I GUESS THAT'S WHY THEY CALL IT THE BLUES!

I'm not familiar with THE ONE.

What kind of Elton John fanatic am I?

OCEANS AWAY

From The Diving Board- 

EJ’s latest greatest album.

One of his best, I think. 

And I hope he plays Home Again too!

SOMEONE SAVED MY LIFE TONIGHT 

Finally!

A song from the first album I ever bought 

with my very own money. 

I wonder if the Brown Dirt Cowboy’s back stage?

SAD SONGS (SAY SO MUCH)

Yes, yes they do.

ALL THE GIRLS LOVE ALICE 

This f*#@ing rocks! Rocks.

R-O-C-K-S!!

SORRY SEEMS TO BE THE HARDEST WORD

That’s because most people find it waaaay easier to say, 

Fuck You! 

I never laughed so hard.

DON’T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME 

You've ripped my heart out again Mister!
Stop it.

I'M STILL STANDING

Not one of my favourite songs,

yet it's so darn catchy! 

Catchy and commercial friendly.

THE BITCH IS BACK 

Yes! 

The song that plays every time I walk into a room!

YOUR SISTER CAN’T TWIST (BUT SHE CAN ROCK AND ROLL)

I can't believe he’s doin' this song!

Everybody twist!

SATURDAY NIGHT'S ALRIGHT FOR FIGHTING

Because it’s not a hockey game 

until there's blood on the ice!

Encore: 

YOUR SONG 

One of the greatest songs ever written.

And now, 
there’s really nothing left of my heart.
Elton John has it.

CROCODILE ROCK

La...

La, la, la, la, la!

 

Official Elton John website...

http://www.eltonjohn.com/