In this video, guitarist Alex Chadwick gives us “A Brief History of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” taking twelve minutes to go through 100 classic guitar riffs. He begins with a memorable riff from “Mr. Sandman” by Chet Atkins, goes through bands like the Beatles and Aerosmith, finishing with “Cruel” by St. Vincent. The name of the song shows up on the screen when he plays each riff, but if you want a list of all the riffs, check out Open Culture. The music store Chicago Music Exchange sponsors the video. Check it out.
What is your favorite guitar riff of all time? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Below are some good reviews of some good movies that we liked that you might have missed. Both of these movies, which are very different, are available on Blu-Ray and DVD.
How Do You Know (2010) seemed to fly mostly under the radar as just another romantic comedy, perhaps partly because of the generic-sounding name. It bombed with critics and bombed at the box office, perhaps partly due to poor marketing, as explained in The Washington Post. But How Do You Know was written and directed by James L. Brooks, who also directed and co-wrote screenplays for As Good As it Gets (1997) and Terms of Endearment (1983). And like those two movies, How Do You Know features Jack Nicholson, although in a smaller role than the previous films. While How Do You Know does not live up to those predecessors, it does have a touch of the Brooks magic in that it is not a predictable romp with two-dimensional characters like so many modern romantic comedies. The film features nice performances by Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson, and Paul Rudd. If you have high expectations, though, you might agree with Manohla Dargis at The New York Times that it is “an airless, sometimes distressingly mirthless comedy.” Okay, the reviews are pretty much horrible (except this one from Australia’s Sydney Morning Herald). At the beginning of the film, I felt like something was missing, but as it went on, it was entertaining. It is not great, but if you are looking for a decent romantic comedy and go into it with modest expectations, you might be pleasantly surprised by this film.
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring (2003) has critics and audience ratings of 90+% on the Rotten Tomatoes website. I do not think everyone will love it, and suspect that the high rating among audience members is because the people who would see this movie are the ones who would like it. Among others, Movie Habit gives the movie a good review. The South Korean film starts off with a boy being raised by a monk in an isolated area, and it follows the boy as he grows into a man. The movie has dialogue, but not a lot, so it is almost like watching a silent movie in a beautiful setting full of symbolism. I am still trying to decide how much I like it, but unlike How Do You Know, I will remember this one for a long time.
{Missed Movies is our continuing series on good films you might have missed because they did not receive the recognition they deserved when released.}
What did you think of How Do You Know and of Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Jerry Seinfeld has a new series premiering on the Internet this Thursday, July 19 at 9:00 p.m. The series is entitled, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, and from the preview it looks like the title of the series adequately describes what it is about. But if you want to be sure, you will have to check out the show’s website for the premiere. Below is a trailer for the series. Check it out.
The upcoming guests include Larry David, Michael Richards, and Ricky Gervais.
Will you watch Jerry Seinfeld’s new web series? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Country music legend Kitty Wells passed away July 16, 2012 at the age of 92. Among other accomplishments, she will be remembered because in 1952 her record of “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” became the first country music #1 song by a woman soloist. It is a great country song too.
Although Wells may be best remembered for that groundbreaking hit, she had many other popular recordings, including a version of “I Can’t Stop Loving You,” and she was known as the “Queen of Country.” She was generally listed as the top female country singer for more than a decade during 1952 through 1968 before being dethroned by Tammy Wynette, who was followed by other female country singers. Wells’s website notes a number of honors, including that she was inducted into the Country Music Association Hall of Fame in 1976.
Although it is hard to imagine now, but “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” was controversial when released. The song was an answer song to Hank Thompson’s “The Wild Side of Life,” where the singer said he didn’t know that God made honky tonk angels and bemoaned the lover that left him to go back to the wild side of life.
In Wells’s response with “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels,” written by J.D. “Jay” Miller, Wells put the blame back on the men. At the time, some of the male-dominated radio stations would not play the song and she was not allowed to perform it at the Grand Ole Opry. But the song struck a chord with enough people to become a bigger hit than Thompson’s song.
Both Thompson’s and Wells’s songs used the same tune, which appeared in the earlier songs of The Carter Family’s 1929 “I’m Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes” and Roy Acuff’s 1936 classic record of Rev. Guy Smith’s “The Great Speckled Bird.” Kitty Wells herself later recorded “The Great Speckled Bird,” where you can hear the similarity to “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels.”
Wells was born Ellen Muriel Deason in Nashville, Tennessee on August 30, 1919. She changed her name to Kitty Wells in 1943 based on a suggestion of her husband, Johnny Wright, who was also a country music performer. The name came from a folk ballad recorded by the Pickard Family, entitled “Sweet Kitty Wells.” Here is the song that provided her name, recorded by Billy Grammer.
Peace to Sweet Kitty Wells and honky tonk angels everywhere. What is your favorite Kitty Wells song? Leave your two cents in the comments.
The new trailer for Oz the Great and Powerful starring James Franco debuted at San Diego Comic-Con International. The movie is a prequel to The Wizard of Oz. The film, directed by Sam Raimi, tells the story of how Oscar Diggs (Franco) ends up in Oz and becomes the “wizard” of the original classic. Mila Kunis plays Theodora, the future Wicked Witch of the West, and Michelle Williams and Rachel Weisz also star. Check out the trailer.
Do you think Oz the Great and Powerful will be a worthy successor to The Wizard of Oz? Leave your two cents in the comments.
