― Tom, Monday, 30 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
I suppose a thing about Elvis is, how familiar is he really? He *seems* over-familiar - we think we know it all already - and maybe many folk do, several times over. But often, when I actually go and play the stuff rather than just think about it abstractly, it surprises me. It turns out to be more exciting than I imagined, or there are great songs I'd forgotten about; etc. I mean: the reality of Elvis might, possibly, be more (rather than less) interesting than the idea.
― the pinefox, Monday, 30 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― David, Monday, 30 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― , Monday, 30 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Dan Perry, Monday, 30 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Richard Tunnicliffe, Monday, 30 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
with all due respect to little richard (who i love) and chuck berry (who i respect), elvis was rock n' roll, until those damned beatles showed up, as he epitomized what it was all about viz. white kids doing naughty things viz. commingling with blacks. he had the hair, the looks, the moves -- few people have looked as bad-ASS as the king did on his comeback special -- and most importantly the voice, the one thing he'd have after everything else was gone.
search: "mystery train," "jailhouse rock," "surrender," "can't help falling in love," "anything that's part of you," "it hurts me," "tiger man," "if i can dream," "wearin' that loved on look," "i'll hold you in my heart," "tomorrow never comes," "american trilogy," etc muthafuckin' etc.
destroy: the films and most of the concomitant music, the cult, his private life, the karate...it's not too difficult to figure out what should be discounted.
― fred solinger, Monday, 30 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Andrew, Monday, 30 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Jack Seale, Monday, 30 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Geoff, Monday, 30 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
I'm like Tom, I appreciate the idea of Elvis but I can't be bothered to listen to him, like ever. I own none of his CDs, because I have no desire to turn him on. If he comes on the radio, I won't turn it off, but really it's not my cup of tea. I won't search him out, simple as that.
― Ally, Monday, 30 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Joseph Wasko, Monday, 30 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Sean Carruthers, Monday, 30 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Guy, Monday, 30 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
Elvis I think does the business, but proceed with caution. The really bad sixties movie cuts aren't even good for camp value.
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 30 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Johnathan, Monday, 30 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
DESTROY: Greil Marcus. Much of the time, he's worse than the folks who see the image of Elvis in the grease spattered on a toaster of the local Waffle House.
― badger, Monday, 30 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
As for me, I would say classic. I think a lot of the mythology surrounding him has belittled the music he created.
― Nicole, Monday, 30 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― alex in nyc, Monday, 30 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Patrick, Monday, 30 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Mark, Monday, 30 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― DG, Monday, 30 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― keith, Monday, 30 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Keiko, Monday, 30 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Geoff, Tuesday, 1 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Omar, Tuesday, 1 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
Other than that, he never meant a thing to me. Dud I guess. I'm such a fucking kid.
― Ian White, Thursday, 3 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Era Tanttros, Sunday, 20 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Sean, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Ken, Thursday, 23 January 2003 16:40 (twenty-one years ago) link
― James Blount (James Blount), Thursday, 23 January 2003 16:59 (twenty-one years ago) link
No wait, that was William Lyon Mackenzie King!
Dennis Lee to thread!
― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Thursday, 23 January 2003 17:01 (twenty-one years ago) link
I don't understand how anyone can say he's a "watered-down Little Richard" since (a) they sound nothing at all alike, even when Elvis covered Little Richard songs, and (b) Elvis started making records before Little Richard cut "Tutti Frutti," the first record he made in the style he's famous for.
― M Matos (M Matos), Thursday, 23 January 2003 18:01 (twenty-one years ago) link
― James Blount (James Blount), Thursday, 23 January 2003 18:04 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Ken, Thursday, 23 January 2003 19:02 (twenty-one years ago) link
Though he IS undeniably a great singer, with really terrible management, though try telling that to the billion dollar EP Estate.Like Ali, his talent was squandered, though there are many moments of transcendence throughout his career.
Also, in Linda Gail Lewis's autobio, she claims that the time Jerry Lee stormed the gates at Graceland, it was because a doped up EP had called him to come rescue him, a claim not as preposterous as it seems.Elvis might have been King, but Colonol Parker ruled.
― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Thursday, 23 January 2003 19:13 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Ken, Thursday, 23 January 2003 21:15 (twenty-one years ago) link
― M Matos (M Matos), Thursday, 23 January 2003 21:38 (twenty-one years ago) link
Here's a question to ponder: What would Elvis's legacy be had he not been so incredible looking?
― Jim M (jmcgaw), Thursday, 23 January 2003 21:43 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Jim M (jmcgaw), Thursday, 23 January 2003 21:49 (twenty-one years ago) link
One of whom I phoned just to hear her voice after her repeating "Listen, we will invite some guys over, listen to Elvis and play some yahtzee".
― robotman, Thursday, 23 January 2003 21:57 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Bruce Urquhart (Bruce Urquhart), Thursday, 23 January 2003 22:00 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Ken, Thursday, 23 January 2003 23:47 (twenty-one years ago) link
― jones (actual), Thursday, 23 January 2003 23:51 (twenty-one years ago) link
Right. The thing is, even with the big voice and big emotions, he usually seems to be in pretty much in total control of his singing, it’s not full tilt from beginning to end 24/7.
― Meet Me in the Z'Ha'Dum (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, November 20, 2022 10:28 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink
xpost yeah exactly, the control & modulation is key to drawing you in
― werewolves of laudanum (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, November 20, 2022 10:39 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink
OTM. I was just listening to the live version of "How Great Thou Art" from the Amazing Grace set, and...holy hell, the degree of control he has at the absolute top of his range, where most singers would start to falter, is astounding. And that's just on the technical level: the fact that he was also able to sustain the drama and elevate the HUGENESS of it all...and do it TWICE, because he reprises the final section...just blows my mind. And he did that every night.
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Monday, 21 November 2022 17:06 (one year ago) link
FWIW, the Museum of the Moving image is screening Elvis on Tuesday, Nov. 29 at 7pm and Baz Luhrmann will be there to do a post-screening discussion.
― birdistheword, Tuesday, 22 November 2022 19:54 (one year ago) link
And it's FREE!
https://movingimage.us/event/elvis/
― birdistheword, Tuesday, 22 November 2022 19:55 (one year ago) link
this cover is good and incorporates george harrison's wa wa :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-FC177E8zI
― kurt schwitterz, Tuesday, 22 November 2022 21:37 (one year ago) link
Yes! Was thinking of posting that myself.
― Meet Me in the Z'Ha'Dum (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 22 November 2022 21:59 (one year ago) link
Oh, NEXT Tuesday is the screening
― Meet Me in the Z'Ha'Dum (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 22 November 2022 22:20 (one year ago) link
Starting to think this guy totally knew what he was doing every time he opened his mouth to sing.
― The Dark End of the Tweet (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 28 November 2022 00:09 (one year ago) link
What was he thinking when he sang “The Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce” in the film Girl Happy” (1965)?
― Josefa, Monday, 28 November 2022 00:16 (one year ago) link
Ha, I actually like that one too!
― The Dark End of the Tweet (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 28 November 2022 00:21 (one year ago) link
I guess he was just a civic minded guy
― Josefa, Monday, 28 November 2022 00:23 (one year ago) link
Not saying he elevates that kind of material or everybody needs to listen to it, but his vocal performance of its own accord is fine.
― The Dark End of the Tweet (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 28 November 2022 00:25 (one year ago) link
Tbh I like that song myself, I’ve spent a lot of time in Fort Lauderdale and I’m glad someone sang a song about it
― Josefa, Monday, 28 November 2022 00:29 (one year ago) link
A few days ago I listened to his cover of “What’d I Say,” which I think is also from a movie, don’t know which. Does it really need to exist? I dunno. But given that it exists, it sounds pretty damned good.
― The Dark End of the Tweet (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 28 November 2022 00:31 (one year ago) link
Ah, it’s in Viva Las Vegas, which I never saw properly. Love the title track and some of the dancing though.
― The Dark End of the Tweet (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 28 November 2022 00:33 (one year ago) link
Ugh, looking at some of this soundtrack stuff, kind of want to take it back.
― The Dark End of the Tweet (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 28 November 2022 00:52 (one year ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbWBG0lS4Is
― an icon of a worried-looking, long-haired, bespectacled man (C. Grisso/McCain), Monday, 28 November 2022 02:04 (one year ago) link
Ha, maybe you already knew about this thread: Elvis' Weirdest Songs
― The Dark End of the Tweet (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 28 November 2022 02:22 (one year ago) link
― Josefa,
!!
― Malevolent Arugula (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 28 November 2022 02:57 (one year ago) link
Of course, Motley Crue gave a shout out to Fort Lauderdale in "Girls Girls Girls," and Jaco Pastorius died there.
― Josefa, Monday, 28 November 2022 03:19 (one year ago) link
Forgot all about that and was imagining he had died in that apartment on Jones Street.
― The Dark End of the Tweet (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 28 November 2022 07:17 (one year ago) link
Oh hey. Just walked by MoMI and…
― The Dark End of the Tweet (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 30 November 2022 00:16 (one year ago) link
Popped in, thought about approaching Baz to show off my new Elvis karaoke chops, but security gave me the stink-eye so I thought better of it.
― The Dark End of the Tweet (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 30 November 2022 00:32 (one year ago) link
Listening to the new Elvis On Tour box: four complete concerts from April 1972, the movie on Blu-Ray, and two discs of outtakes and rehearsals and whatnot. These live discs are insane. He only plays for an hour, but does between 20 and 25 songs — it's a positively Ramones-esque pace. The set list is mostly the same from night to night, with a few changes. And the band absolutely destroys, of course.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Monday, 5 December 2022 19:06 (one year ago) link
finally watched the movie, was taken aback by how wall-to-wall insane it was, felt like a good 60% of it was just insane montages and transitions
Tom Hanks in a fat suit was really weird to watch. he reminds me of Malkovich as Teddy KGB in Rounders. that accent he uses is so over the top, I just can't believe an actual human being sounded like that. he talks like he's a big cartoon rat or something. that said I haven't actually heard Tom Parker talk, so...
― frogbs, Tuesday, 2 May 2023 18:48 (eleven months ago) link
he talks like he's a big cartoon rat or something.
ahahahaha that is totally it!
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 2 May 2023 18:58 (eleven months ago) link
lol otm
― werewolves of laudanum (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 2 May 2023 19:21 (eleven months ago) link
Yeah, that's a fantastic description, and dead on.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Tuesday, 2 May 2023 19:34 (eleven months ago) link
Hahaha yes! The whole thing is so garish and episodic and hard to digest in one sitting I think of it as Elvis: The CD-ROM
― Terrycoth Baphomet (bendy), Tuesday, 2 May 2023 20:41 (eleven months ago) link
I liked it in the theater but don't know if I could sit through it again.
― Because the Nighttoad (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 2 May 2023 20:43 (eleven months ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJFojCn6m74
― Shifty Henry’s Swing Club (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 17 November 2023 18:50 (five months ago) link
Forgot about thishttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCFNB1XNFRQ
― Shifty Henry’s Swing Club (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 17 November 2023 18:55 (five months ago) link
So about PRISCILLA.
― The Ginger Bakersfield Sound (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 25 February 2024 00:19 (one month ago) link
How is it?
― Sony's Sports Walkman Universe (morrisp), Sunday, 25 February 2024 00:20 (one month ago) link
It’s basically a bummer.
― The Ginger Bakersfield Sound (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 25 February 2024 01:07 (one month ago) link
:(
― Sony's Sports Walkman Universe (morrisp), Sunday, 25 February 2024 01:38 (one month ago) link
i haven’t seen it yet, i think i’ll wait it out
― werewolves of laudanum (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 25 February 2024 01:54 (one month ago) link
It’s all true I have no doubt but still
― The Ginger Bakersfield Sound (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 25 February 2024 15:09 (one month ago) link
I learned a few things though
― The Ginger Bakersfield Sound (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 25 February 2024 15:19 (one month ago) link
Maybe it’s a bummer in a good way, I still have to ponder.
― The Ginger Bakersfield Sound (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 25 February 2024 15:22 (one month ago) link
Lisa Marie didn’t like the script :(
Would love to see what someone else around here thinks
― The Ginger Bakersfield Sound (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 25 February 2024 15:28 (one month ago) link
I saw lots of positive reviews out there. Think maybe around here Eric didn’t like it. Me, I’d much rather rewatch THE VIRGIN SUICIDES.
― The Ginger Bakersfield Sound (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 25 February 2024 15:30 (one month ago) link
I can use one of my expiring February hoopla credits for that
― The Ginger Bakersfield Sound (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 25 February 2024 15:33 (one month ago) link
Hmm. Can't verify my library. Will have to wait until Monday I guess.
― The Ginger Bakersfield Sound (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 25 February 2024 15:56 (one month ago) link
Neither Elvis nor Priscilla had any real chariisma in this movie, as far as I could see.
― The Ginger Bakersfield Sound (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 25 February 2024 15:57 (one month ago) link
It's second-tier Coppola but good.
― poppers fueled buttsex crescendo (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 25 February 2024 15:59 (one month ago) link
Hoping to watch it this afternoon or tonight.
― Tahuti Watches L&O:SVU Reruns Without His Ape (unperson), Sunday, 25 February 2024 18:35 (one month ago) link
Heh, just came across a brief J.G. Ballard review of Albert Goldman’s book in the recent Selected Nonfiction collection.
― The Ginger Bakersfield Sound (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 25 February 2024 19:50 (one month ago) link
Some Priscilla discussion here: Sofia CopPOLLa
― Kim Kimberly, Sunday, 25 February 2024 19:58 (one month ago) link
Thanks!
― The Ginger Bakersfield Sound (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 25 February 2024 20:13 (one month ago) link