Author: chimesfreedom

Editor-in-chief, New York.

Doing “The Time Warp” Since 1975

Rocky Horror Anniversary On September 26, 1975, The Rocky Horror Picture Show was released in the United States, following its August 14 release in the U.K. Despite doing well in Los Angeles, the film initially did not do well elsewhere, resulting in the cancellation of a planned Halloween night opening in New York City.

Executives at 20th Century Fox, however, noted that some films were doing well at midnight showings, so the following April, the movie began running at midnight in New York, soon spreading to other locations. The rest is history, as the studio has never ended the 1975 distribution, making the movie the longest-running release ever and Meat Loaf’s greatest big-screen appearance.

It was a long road, but the counterculture movie written by director Jim Sharman and actor Richard O’Brien (Riff Raff) stuck around long enough to become mainstream. Brad Majors, played by Barry Bostwick, spoke for the movie when he sang to Janet Weiss (Susan Sarandon), “The future is ours/ So let’s plan it.”

So, to celebrate the anniversary of the film’s release, get out your toast, spray guns, and toilet paper. Below is the original trailer for the film that became a cult phenomenon.

For more on The Rocky Horror Picture Show, check out this rare Tim Curry interview from the time of the movie’s release. Also, for the fortieth anniversary of the film, Fox News interviewed cast members Barry Bostwick, Patricia Quinn, and Nell Campbell.

What is your favorite song from The Rocky Horror Picture Show? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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  • Tim Curry on “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” in 1975
  • Meat Loaf: “For Crying Out Loud”
  • That’s When Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through
  • It’s Only Two O’clock and the Temperature’s Beginning to Soar
  • Low Budget Sci-Fi & Much More in “Robot & Frank” (Short Review)
  • Anniv. of Civil War’s Start: Elvis’s American Trilogy

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    Bruce Springsteen Takes It Easy With Jackson Browne

    Browne Take It Easy

    This week on September 22, Bruce Springsteen joined Jackson Browne to sing “Take It Easy” with Browne. On stage at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, New Jersey, the Boss looked both bemused and relaxed, perhaps because he was so close to his home. In other words, he was taking it easy too.

    Browne wrote “Take It Easy” with Glenn Frey, who sang lead vocals when The Eagles made it a hit in 1972 and put it on their debut Eagles album that year. Browne also released his version of the song on For Everyman in 1973. The song remains associated with both The Eagles and Browne, but this week, Springsteen enjoyed bringing some Winslow, Arizona to New Jersey.

    Springsteen may have looked extra happy onstage because the next day was his sixty-sixth birthday on September 23.

    Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • Know the Song But Not the Writer: Peaceful Easy Feeling Edition
  • Clarence Clemons: You’re a Friend of Mine
  • Bruce Springsteen Releases New Protest Song About ICE Protests: “Streets of Minneapolis”
  • 9 Thoughts on the “Deliver Me from Nowhere” Movie and Springsteen’s “Nebraska” Box Set
  • Who Sings the Gospel Song “Last Mile of the Way” in the Film “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere”?
  • “Under a Big Sky”: Digesting Songs on Springsteen’s “Tracks II: The Lost Albums”
    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

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    Shawn Colvin Covers Waits and Springsteen

    Colvin Tougher Than the Rest

    Singer-songwriter Shawn Colvin not only has written some great songs, but she is a wonderful interpreter of songs written by others. In addition to mixing covers with her originals on some albums, she also released an all-covers album in 1994 called Cover Girl. This month, she is releasing a new album of covers, Uncovered (2015). The album, her first since 2012’s All Fall Down, features songs written by a wide-range of artists, including Stevie Wonder, Graham Nash, Robert Earl Keen Jr., and Paul Simon. Colvin has already released videos for her covers of songs by Tom Waits and Bruce Springsteen.

    On the new album, Colvin covers Tom Waits on “Hold On,” which appeared on Waits’s Grammy-winning Mule Variations (1999). Check out Colvin’s coer.

    Colvin also tackles a song from Springsteen’s 1987 Tunnel of Love album, “Tougher Than the Rest.” Chimesfreedom previously wrote about the song as one of the highlights of Springsteen’s Tunnel of Love album, and Colvin takes a quieter acoustic approach to the song. Check it out.

    Colvin’s album Uncovered goes on sale on September 25, and she will begin a new tour with Don Henley starting October 3.

    What is your favorite Shawn Colvin cover? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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  • Tougher Than the Rest
  • “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” (Short Review)
  • What Becomes of All the Little Boys?
  • Colvin & Earle: “Ruby Tuesday”
  • Shawn Colvin and Steve Earle Join Forces
  • Love, Sex, Death, and Springsteen’s “Sha La La”

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    10 Best True-Life Sports Movies

    top 10 sports
    WatchMojo recently put together a list of the 10 best biopics, considering sports movies based on real-life people and teams. The list, which does not include documentaries, puts together a decent list that is a good start for prompting a discussion.

    There are some good choices on the list, even including some nice surprises like Hurricane (1999), Chariots of Fire (1981), Remember the Titans (2000), 42 (2013), and Cinderella Man (2005). I doubt everyone will agree with the complete list, but everyone will agree with some of the films. Check it out.

    It is difficult to argue with WatchMojo’s number one pick. But no Miracle (2004), Eight Men Out (1988), Brian’s Song (1971), Rudy (1993), Pride of the Yankees (1942), or We Are Marshall (2006)?

    What sports biopics would you add to the list? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • When a Hockey Team Made Us Believe in Miracles
  • Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, Ain’t No Valley Low Enough
  • A Tribute to Greg Trooper
  • “Southpaw” Aims High (Short Review)
  • The Babe Ruth Story (and Funeral)
  • Gary Cooper’s Three Oscars

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp Sing “Night Life”

    Nelson Mellencamp

    This week, John Mellencamp joined Willie Nelson for a bluesy rendition of Nelson’s classic song about living the “Night Life.” The two appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert together, commemorating this weekend’s upcoming thirtieth anniversary of Farm Aid, which is being held in Chicago this year.

    With some help from Nelson’s guitar Trigger along with Mickey Raphael on harmonica, Mellencamp and Nelson give a nice performance. Nelson wrote the song in the late 1950s when he was playing clubs at night in Texas, struggling to make a living. “Listen to the blues that they’re playin’ / Listen what the blues are sayin’.” The song holds up more than fifty years later. [2019 Update: Unfortunately, the video is not currently available on YouTube.]

    Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson Put Johnny Cash’s Poetry to Music
  • The Saga of Willie Nelson’s Guitar
  • The First Farm Aid
  • 80 Years of Willie: From Opry Singer to Outlaw to Wizard
  • Why Did Stephen Colbert Sing “Jump Up” With Elvis Costello on the Final “Late Show”?
  • When is Mickey Newbury’s “33rd of August”?

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)