The 1976 documentary Heartworn Highways provided insight into some of the legends of alternative country like Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle, and Guy Clark. Director Jim Szalapski filled the film with vignettes of the singer-songwriters in their daily lives, providing a fly-on-the wall portrait of them. It is a film for music lovers, without a narrative story, that I found engaging.
Now, to celebrate the thirty-fifth anniversary of Heartworn Highways, director Wayne Price will be releasing Heartworn Highways Revisited.
The new film takes a look at some current outlaw country singers like Shelly Colvin, Matraca Berg, Bobby Bare Jr., Johnny Fritz, Robert Ellis, Shovels and Rope, Joshua Hedley, John McCauley, and Langhorne Slim. Some old-timers make appearances too, like Guy Clark and David Allan Coe. I am happy to see that rising star singer-songwriter Andrew Combs is in the film too.
Check out the promotional video below.
On the film’s website, Price writes, “With electronic laptop musicians commanding the airwaves, I am excited to bring us back to the ‘old school, with songwriters who only need their instrument and their experience to create music.”
Years ago, I loaned my copy of Heartworn Highways to a friend and never got it back. But I enjoyed the movie, which has some great moments like Van Zandt playing “Waitin’ Round To Die.” I still listen to the soundtrack.
Reportedly, there is no release date yet for the new film, but I am looking forward to the release of Heartworn Highways Revisited.
On June 10, 1692, Bridget Bishop became the first person hanged in Salem, Massachusetts after being accused of being a witch. By the end of the year, a total of nineteen innocent men and women had been hanged –and one man had been pressed to death — as a result of the Salem witch trials.
Hysteria around accusations of witchcraft were not unique to Salem and occurred around the world. But the Salem executions remain prominent in America’s history. There are various theories about the conditions and rivalries that led to the accusations of witchcraft and the government’s condoning of the executions.
The Crucible
Although the U.S. does not hang people for being witches today, the Salem witch trials are still invoked for modern day forms of hysteria. Playwright Arthur Miller used a dramatic interpretation of the Salem witch trials to comment on the witch-hunting of his own time. His play The Crucible opened in 1953. This fictionalized version of the Salem witch trials provided a commentary on the American government’s hunt for communists during Miller’s time.
Director Nicholas Hytner turned Miller’s play into a movie in 1996. The film version of The Crucible stars Daniel Day-Lewis, Winona Ryder, Paul Scofield, and Joan Allen.
At the time of the movie’s release, Miller wrote an essay in The New Yorker, “Why I Wrote ‘The Crucible.'” In the article, he explained that when he wrote the play over the course of a year, he also thought of other recent events of national insanity, like the Nazis in Germany. He also noted that the play continued to be relevant to later events in Joseph Stalin’s Russia, Mao Zedong’s China, and Augusto Pinochet’s Chile.
In his essay, Miller further explained, “below its concerns with justice the play evokes a lethal brew of illicit sexuality, fear of the supernatural, and political manipulation.” The play remains relevant as a reminder to stand up against hysteria and tyranny.
The West Memphis 3
A few years before the release of the film version of The Crucible, similar concerns about justice, illicit sexuality, fear of the supernatural, and political manipulation arose in the prosecution of the West Memphis 3. That case involved three young men convicted of the 1993 murders of three boys in West Memphis, Arkansas.
In the case, where some evoked parallels with the Salem with trials, the three accused eventually were released. Documentaries had helped create supporters for the three young men.
One of the three young men in the West Memphis 3 case, Damien Echols, was sentenced to death. Echols dressed and believed differently than others in the Arkansas community. Many believed his differences contributed to the reason he was prosecuted and sentenced to death.
After Echols was released from prison, he moved to Salem, Massachusetts. He explained, “Due to its history, Salem’s like a mecca for people in any form of alternative spirituality.”
A recent movie, Devil’s Knot (2013), tells the story of the West Memphis 3 in a dramatic retelling. That film, by chance or intent, was released on DVD in 2014 on the June 10 Salem anniversary.
Devil’s Knot, which stars Colin Firth and Reese Withspoon, is a decent introduction to the West Memphis 3 case and features a strong performance by Witherspoon. But the movie may try to do too much. And it is hard to beat the outstanding Paradise Lost documentaries.
The three documentaries are worth seeking out (the first of which currently is on YouTube). But viewers should be prepared that the films evoke strong emotions in recounting the horrible murders and problematic justice system. Similarly, the 1996 movie version of The Crucible features fine acting and remains a powerful reminder that injustice is not confined to one time period.
The Legacy of Salem
Bridget Bishop was around sixty years old when she went to the gallows. But we do not know what she thought as the executioner put a noose around her neck this week in 1692.
Perhaps the residents of Salem failed to stop the execution because of their own fears. Perhaps they would not risk their own lives for someone who was “different” because she had been married three times, frequented taverns, and did not dress like other Puritans.
But I wish Ms. Bishop could have known that she and the other condemned “witches” would not be forgotten. And I wish they could know that they continue to challenge us and make us question our beliefs more than three hundred years later.
Bridget Bishop picture via public domain. Leave your two cents in the comments.
Former Skid Row singer Sebastian Bach showed he can be a little country when he turned into Willie Nelson for the latest episode of ABC’s Sing Your Face Off. Bach walks onstage dressed as Nelson, providing his rendition of “Always On My Mind.”
The image is a little disorienting because he does not quite sound like Nelson, but when Bach hits the high notes around the 1:16 mark, he puts his own stamp on the classic song.
You may catch the episode airing Saturday, June 7 at 9:00 p.m. EST. As for the real Nelson, we have previously noted that he has a new album with original material coming out June 17. What do you think of Sebastian Bach’s Willie? Leave your two cents in the comments.
In advance of his upcoming album, Sukierae, Jeff Tweedy has made available one of the twenty tracks, “I’ll Sing It.” The album and the new song feature Tweedy’s 18-year-old son Spencer playing drums. So the former Wilco front man and Uncle Tupelo member has explained that the album should be considered as coming from the father-son duo under the band name Tweedy.
Sukierae, Tweedy’s first album since Wilco’s The Whole Love (2011), will be released September 16 on Wilco’s label dBpm. For more on the album and Tweedy’s upcoming summer tour, check out the article on Rolling Stone or head over to Wilco’s website.
Are you excited about Tweedy’s upcoming album? Leave your two cents in the comments.
On Tuesday June 4, 1968, Senator Robert F. Kennedy won the California Democratic presidential primary. Late that night, after his win was announced, he addressed supporters at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, ending with, “Now on to Chicago, and let’s win there!” But not long after midnight as the day turned into June 5, Sirhan Sirhan shot Kennedy while the candidate was exiting through the kitchen of the hotel.
Kennedy was rushed to the hospital. There, doctors performed brain surgery for several hours, but Kennedy’s condition got worse. He died at 1:44 a.m. on June 6. Kennedy was 42 years old.
Hubert Humphrey went on to win the Democratic nomination and represent the party in the election. In November, Humphrey lost to Richard M. Nixon.
Earlier in the day of the California primary, Bobby Kennedy gave an interview to ABC News from his campaign’s headquarters. In one of Kennedy’s last interviews, he discussed that day’s primary, the current campaign, and his plans for the future. (Update: The video is no longer currently available.]
The 1976 documentary Heartworn Highways provided insight into some of the legends of alternative country like Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle, and Guy Clark. Director Jim Szalapski filled the film with vignettes of the singer-songwriters in their daily lives, providing a fly-on-the wall portrait of them. It is a film for music lovers, without a narrative story, that I found engaging.
had helped create supporters for the three young men.
(2013), tells the story of the West Memphis 3 in a dramatic retelling. That film, by chance or intent, was released on DVD in 2014 on the June 10 Salem anniversary.
(2011), will be released September 16 on Wilco’s label dBpm. For more on the album and Tweedy’s upcoming summer tour, check out the article on 