A Disturbance in the Force - Carrie Fisher Passes Away

We all felt a disturbance in the Force early this week. The entertainment world lost Carrie Fisher, AKA Princess/General Leia Organa. As soon as I heard this, I thought of the loss of another Star Wars actor, Kenny Baker (R2-D2) back in August. Gads, what is happening?

It was in the 1977 Star Wars (its was not yet dubbed A New Hope when it was first screened) that I first saw young Carrie. Her distinctive double hair buns style became a topic of conversation - and jokes - the world over, whether you worked in a hair salon or not. And that gal was pretty handy with a blaster, too. The sci-fi/fantasy epic was only Fisher's second film, yet it truly kicked off a busy career in Hollywood - and beyond.

Though Leia got a lot of attention for her Jabbakini (my word invention)

outfit in Return of the Jedi, it was her cruller-shaped hair adornment in the

very first Star Wars movie that made her instantly recognizable

Naturally, I also watched Fisher reprise her role as Leia in the follow-up Star Wars chapters, including last year's The Force Awakens. Though her most famous character had very little screen time in the most recent movie, fans the world over sighed happily just to see yet another familiar face from the original trilogy. Han and Chewie got the first giddy response from viewers, but Leia's appearance sort of sewed up the "relationship" part of the story. 

It must have been in the late 70's or maybe 80's when I caught Fisher's first movie, Shampoo, on TV. For me, it was forgettable... just not my kind of movie, at least at the time. In the early 80's, when my friends and I started renting videos, we enjoyed seeing Carrie as John Belushi's crazed jilted ex-fiance in The Blues Brothers. Exploding bombs and blasting a machine gun - she was hilarious!

Fisher appeared in dozens of movies, though I saw very few of them. The ones I remember were The 'Burbs, When Harry Met Sally, the first Austin Powers flick, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and Fanboys. She was just as busy with dozens of television appearances, usually doing cameo guest spots on shows like Laverne and Shirley, Frasier, Rosanne, Weeds, 30 Rock, and Big Bang Theory. Oh, and that embarrassing (for cast, creators, and fans alike) Star Wars Holiday Special back in '78. Pew! As far as I could tell from the few shows I saw her on, Fisher played variations of her real-life self, a wacky, messed-up character. Quite unlike her rock-steady, in-charge General Leia character. 

Carrie Fisher was more accomplished than many of us realized; along with her acting career, she also wrote several books - fiction and non-fiction, some plays, and movie screenplays. She even voiced her Leia character in a couple of video games. 

It's a shame Fisher endured bipolar disorder and addictions throughout her life, though she somehow remained a hard-working and disciplined contributor to the arts. Her untimely demise is a shock to all. 

RIP, Carrie.... and may the Force be with you, always.

Between the Covers - Part 1

This is the first installment of Between the Covers, something I'll publish now and then, to discuss an original song and its remake (one of them, if there are several). The whole idea of this sort of series came to me recently when I was thinking about one of the weirdest cover versions of all time, Devo's take on the Rolling Stones' (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction. That would be worth examining, I thought to myself. 

And of course, there are the myriad other covers out there, some faithful to the original, some not, some by the books, some taking risky artistic freedom. Occasionally, you hear a cover that actually improves upon the original, or at least rivals it by showing us a fascinating new way of interpreting the song. 

I wanna rock'n'roll.... er, honky tonk all night.

Party on, Garth!

First up, the Stones' Satisfaction, as deconstructed and reconstructed by 80's new wavers Devo. Barely recognizable outside of the lyrics, this new reading bears the herky-jerky style so typical of Devo, and it actually works! What was originally a gritty rock'n'roll anthem of the 60's became a modernized, industrial machine-like tune. Almost alien its performance. Here, Satisfaction is fun in its quirky inventiveness, for which Devo is famous. Gone is that legendary Stone's riff, replaced by expertly wonky rhythms on guitar, synthesizer, and madcap percussion. Less melodic and more beat-driven, the song becomes more textural and busy after it's run through the Devo filter. 

Back in the 90's, I was impressed by country star Garth Brooks' version of Hard Luck Woman, written by Kiss. Now technically, Brooks didn't cover the song so much as sing lead while the actual band Kiss backed him up. But still, that good ol' boy showed respect by doing an honest job on the tune. He and the face-painted fellows pretty much did a note-for-note rendition. It sure helped that Hard Luck Woman was written with a country feel, so this wasn't exactly a stretch for Brooks. Plus Brooks admitted to being a Kiss fan when he was a boy - he probably played air guitar to it like all the other kids on the block. So... I guess he's not entirely bad. 

A mellow evening with Slayer... the stage and audience slick with

(fake) blood, which rained down during the song Raining Blood (duh!)

Raining Blood is among the heaviest slabs of metal ever produced by Slayer. That intensity and ferociousness was key to this masterpiece of horror and mayhem. Totally in yer face! Now take such a tuneless and violent song and put it in the hands of Tori Amos, who massages it into a quietly haunting piece. Slayer is about the visceral - loud, fast, and aggressive. Amos' simple arrangement placing her hypnotic vocals over piano accompaniment weaves an evocative spell, about as far from Slayer as one can get. Interestingly, I get more chills listening to Tori softly crooning the dark cryptic lyrics written by team Slayer. Rather than headbanging, I'd instead be filled with dread, cowering in the corner. 

Let's dig back into the swinging sixties again: Gimme Gimme Good Lovin', by Crazy Elephant (hey, I'd never heard of them until now, either). But in the 80's, when Canadian hair-metal band Helix revamped this oldie, I knew I'd heard it somewhere before. So a quick search on Youtube, and Crazy Elephant comes up. A one-hit wonder, apparently. Anyway, their 1969 CCR-tinged pop ditty spelled radio success. Years later, clad in leather and spandex, Helix played the song fairly faithfully, just beefing up the guitars with a metal edge and substituting a 6-six solo for the plinky keyboard break of the original. Both versions are good-time party anthems, so I can enjoy each on its own merits. 

Christmas Pop Songs

More than a decade ago, I compiled a CD of my favourite Christmas songs. I've still got that CD, and play it at least on Christmas day, if not during the weeks leading up to the day. As I look at that playlist that I laboured over all those years ago, I realize that several of my faves were, and still are, not traditional fare, or even new versions of those tunes, but newly-written songs of the pop genre... which were mostly during my era. A few came before my time, but I still heard them throughout my childhood, and later... to this day.

Yo yo yo... Christmas in Hollis with Run-DMC

So these are my personal favourite Christmas pop songs, originals as performed by the artist, not renditions of traditional songs of the season. There are plenty of versions of the classics by every singer and band that ever existed. I think it's no small feat that a pop/rock artist can write a song that instantly becomes a Christmas standard and can endure alongside the oldies like Jingle Bells and Rudolph. 

These songs aren't shown in any particular order, though what I think are the best ones appear closer to the top. What you see here is not the tracklist of that ancient CD, but it does reflect my choices on it, and there are a few brand new additions. Yes, this list is short, but again, these are almost strictly originals, with just a couple of updates to existing pop songs, which are less numerous than re-do's of the oldies. 

2000 Miles - The Pretenders
All I Want For Christmas Is You - Mariah Carey 
Last Christmas - Wham! 
Christmas Wrapping - Spice Girls (original by The Waitresses, 1981... a new wave band!)

Jingle Bell Rock - The Muppets (original by Bobby Helms, 1957)

Little Saint Nick - The Beach Boys

Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - U2 (original by Darlene Love, 1963)
Christmas In Hollis - Run-DMC 
Blue Christmas - Elvis Presley 

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree - Brenda Lee
Christmas All Over Again - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Step Into Christmas - Elton John
Run Run Rudolph - Chuck Berry
Merry Christmas, Darling - The Carpenters
Do They Know It's Christmas? - Band Aid

Snoopy does a little soft-shoe, or is that soft-paw?

A Charlie Brown Christmas, 1965

Plus a few honourable mentions... bending the rules a tad:


The 1964 TV special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer features the now-classic We're a Couple of Misfits, and We Are Santa's Elves, just a couple of the shows catchy and memorable tunes. Not really pop music by today's definition, but still...

Put One Foot in Front of the Other and The First Toymaker to the King are highlights from the 1970 TV special Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Again, not pop, but this original Christmas music is certainly embedded in the psyche of more than one generation.

All of the original songs from the 1965 TV special A Charlie Brown Christmas, including Skating, and Linus and Lucy. Even though these tracks are jazz music, they have been established as pop culture classics, having been covered dozens of times by other artists - jazz, pop, and otherwise. 

Dench, Judi Dench

Actress Judi Dench celebrates a birthday on December 9th. It was in 1934 that Dench was born in Heworth, England. Her mother hailed from Dublin, Ireland and her father, a doctor, was from Dorset, England. Young Judi was exposed to acting through her parents' participation in local theatre. A bit older, she attended a Quaker secondary school, where she became a Quaker (the religious group, not the brand of oats).

In Britain, Dench has been recognized as one of the greatest actors of the post-war period. She performed in theatre, including an enormous number of roles in Shakespearean productions, before moving into film and television in the mid-60's. The nominations and awards continued to roll in for all of her endeavours. She was also appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire, Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Member of the Order of Companions of Honour, and a Fellow of the British Film Institute, among many other honours. 

It was in 1995 that I first saw Judi Dench.... in the role of M, head of MI6 of the British Secret Service, in the James Bond film Goldeneye. Dench impressed fans and critics alike with her solid female take on the traditionally male role in the Bond universe. She racked up an impressive seven film appearances as James Bond's superior. It was easy to warm to the woman; as M, she was tough and straightforward while also serving as a strong and decisive parent-figure for Bond, who was  orphaned at a young age. When James needed to be sorted out, old M was there to do it. A little brow-beating now and then kept him in line.

Whether Dench was behind a desk or in the field (a rare thing to see), she handled the role of M with a fiery sternness that sometimes startled others (in the film stories) but was usually delivered out of a protectiveness for her department - and Bond. But that was also tempered with a calm cool that, of course, made her an effective leader. 

I only really knew Dench from her work in the Bond films, but I could easily see her talent as an actor. Whether opposite Pierce Brosnan or Daniel Craig in the 007 part, she always held her own and did her bloody best to keep a rein on her best (if occasionally reckless) agent. 

Now aged 81, Dench is still active in film and theatre. It was a sad moment when I witnessed the death of Dench's "M" character in the second to last James Bond movie, Skyfall (2012). Hey, every casual and serious Bond fan felt that blow. Never had a such a significant character in the long-running series met their maker on-screen. But I suppose it was a fitting way - M died in the field, so to speak, rather stuck in an office - to usher out one MI6 head and to bring in a new face. 

But Judi Dench will always remain M to me. Happy Birthday!

Deep Cuts - Rock Albums - Part I

The songs that we hear daily on the radio form a wallpaper to our world. We've heard Roxanne, Welcome to the Jungle, and Give a Little Bit so many thousands of times that we barely give them a thought now when we hear them playing while working or shopping. Usually. We are surrounded by the hit singles of the past and present, whether we like them or not. 

But think about the albums of origin... that first Police album, Outlandos d'Amour (where Roxanne appears), for instance: even though not every song was a radio hit, nearly every track is imprinted on the public's consciousness because the disc has been designated a "classic". Over the decades, most of those songs have been appropriated for ad jingles, appear in movies and TV, hum over supermarket sound systems... you name it. So the hits aside, songs like Hole in My Life, Peanuts, Born in the 50's... even if the titles aren't familiar, you'd recognize the tunes if you heard them.

So today I'd like to explore the recesses of some well-known (and well-received) albums, to identify and talk about the lesser known, underappreciated, maybe even undiscovered, songs that deserve some attention... even though they were perhaps tucked away on side two (near the end) of your favourite albums. Here you have it, my first installment of Deep Cuts:

Masoko Tanga, by The Police, of their debut disc, Outlandos d'Amour. A world music-infused pop jam, sprinkled with obscure lyrics, English and otherwise. Sting's prominent bass jangles with the sprightly percussion as simple reggae-style guitar twangs along on this mostly instrumental piece. Fun and boppy, the song never even became a fixture in The Police live shows. Interesting how their music grew a bit more tonally quieter and spare on their next album, yet veered back into Masoko Tanga territory on their third release.

It's Easy, by Boston, from the Don't Look Back album. Pristine recording and meticulous mixing give this whole disc perfect headphone sound, even back in '78. It's Easy has long been a fave song, yet it wasn't among the record's three charting singles. Thick, massive guitar hooks drive the piece, yet it is the contrast of the clean, bright strings in passages that imbues the song with a happy, almost dancey vibe. High, clear multi-tracked vocals create such a big sound that it makes my heart swell.

You're Going To Lose That Girl, by The Beatles, from the Help! album. This song was very nearly released as a single (to accompany the Love Songs LP) years after it first appeared on Help! and The Beatles had broken up. So... the song was never a single, a hit, or even charted... yet it's so catchy and lush with the lads' famous vocal harmonies. I remember first hearing this in the Help! movie and it remained among my favourite Beatle tunes. 

Hard to Believe, by Pat Benatar, off the Precious Time album. A successful blend of hard rock and pop, heavy on the chorus, light on the verse. Benatar's versatile vocals, upbeat tempo, and bright, dynamic guitars provide this track with a fun kick that makes me wonder why this wasn't a hit along with Fire and Ice, Promises in the Dark, and Just Like Me. Still, it says a lot about a deep track when it's just as good as its album's hit singles. That's one solid LP, from the gate to the finish line.

Mandocello, by Cheap Trick, from their self-titled debut album. The Trick album that most people, besides super-fans, don't know about or forget about. For me, the LP is among my favourites of all time. The musicianship... the songwriting, Zander's vocal magic, the mastery of instrumentation... is perhaps better shown here than on subsequent Cheap Trick albums. The boys weren't writing for the radio here, instead opting for nuanced compositions, balanced by some gritty, rowdy numbers. On the subtle side, Mondocello is a beautiful song that provides Zander plenty of room to soar; Petersson's metronomic bass creates the rhythmic interest while Nielsen adds six-string colour with light brush strokes, especially on the solo.

Is It True? by The Eagles, off the On The Border record. Short and sweet, the track carries all the signature sounds of the band, boasting a gentle, catchy mood, accented by lively rhythmic touches, and finally punctuated by yet another soulful guitar solo by Glen Frey. I guess not every song can be a hit, especially with a group as talented as The Eagles, whose output was pretty consistently golden (or platinum). 

Rascal Houdi, by Max Webster, on the A Million Vacations album. I couldn't do this list and not mention at least one Canadian act, could I? Max Webster remains among my fave rock bands of all time, so here goes: Rascal Houdi is a bizarre rocker, one moment metallic guitars and the next dancey melody energized by quirky keyboards. Though Vacations pumped out massive hits with its title track, Let Go the Line, and Paradise Skies, this one slipped through the cracks. The album does offer up a curious collection of tunes ranging from soft ballads to otherworldly prog excursions to outright Canuck classic rockers. Rascal Houdi is the latter, with its jump-started frenetic guitar heroics, unbalanced lyrics, and arena rock fun.

Lessons, by Rush, from the 2112 LP. Okay, one more Canadian band....and sure, every self-respecting Rush fan knows and loves EVERY song on this album. But I've known the odd "fan" who claimed an affection for 2112 and yet was hazy on the contents of side two (I still think of the vinyl record I used to own). But move past side one's epic 2112 suite, dig into the flip side, and you'll find some terrific Rush gems that never made it onto rock radio. Lessons is one of those, and I recall the song making a big impression even back when I first played my brand new 2112 record in 1970-something. Lessons was one of guitarist Alex Lifeson's few lyrical contributions to the Rush canon, yet his words pack a punch... made all the more powerful assisted by his metallic electric leads and smooth, flowing acoustic rhythms. Geddy's distinctive "shriek" is in full force here, breathing fire into Alex's penmanship. This may be one of Rush's few songs where the drums are tucked tidily into the background (no diss to Peart, just an observation of his laid-back approach here).