Pophistory: music, movies, history, and life.
Sugar Hill Records has made available a stream of Marty Stuart’s upcoming album, Nashville, Vol. 1: Tear the Woodpile Down
On Stuart’s website, you may also get a free download of “Tear The Woodpile Down” (“Taxpayer dollar ain’t worth a dime / Government’s got us in a bind”) by providing your email address.
Check it out.
What do you think of Marty Stuart’s new album? Leave your two cents in the comments.
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Unfortunately, some of the biggest pop culture news recently has been about the deaths of Mike Wallace, Dick Clark and Levon Helm. But in case you missed some of the other recent news, check out the following.
–Movies–
The Titanic anniversary prompted some film revivals. Salon critics debated: Is the film Titanic a classic or crap? Also, check out a review of that “other” Titanic movie on Blu-ray, A Night to Remember.
Captain America will return to screens in his own sequel in April 2014.
Universal is rebooting the Mummy films that starred Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz.
Really? As if he doesn’t have enough going for him, Ryan Gosling saved a woman from a speeding car.
Where are the stars of the movie Grease now? (slide show)
Bob Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks is going to be made into a film.
Daniel Craig wants to continue to play James Bond as long as he can.
Watch the trailer for Oliver Stone’s upcoming film about a drug cartel and a kidnapping, Savages.
–Television–
Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurwitz is considering more seasons because of Netflix.
Paul Feig offered his thoughts on each episode of the great TV series, Freaks and Geeks. (Onion A.V. Club)
Jeopardy has lined up celebrity “Power Players” to compete in May, including Lewis Black and Chris Matthews.
Interview with Denny McBride of HBO’s Eastbound & Down.
From Chipwich to Hummer: 10 iconic brands that disappeared.
Jonathan Frid, who played vampire Barnabas Collins on the original Dark Shadows series (and frightened me as a kid) has died. RIP.
–Music–
Ted Nugent is pleading guilty to transporting a black bear he illegally killed in Alaska.
10 best breakup albums of all time.
Scott Fedor writes about Bruce Springsteen connecting with a paralyzed fan this week. (Thanks to Mike S. from Cleveland)
The neuroscience of Bob Dylan’s genius via @guardian (Thanks @sonjathegreat)
Review of Johnny Cash – Bootleg Vol. IV: The Soul of Truth. (from Hyperbolium)
Review of Ray Wylie Hubbard’s new CD, Grifter’s Hymnal. (No Depression)
Greg Ham of the band Men Down Under was found dead in his home in Australia.
Musician Herbie Hancock is writing a memoir.
Hear Lisa Marie Presley’s new single, “You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet,” from her upcoming Storm & Grace CD.
The tragedy of country singer Johnny Paycheck (from No Depression).
The 10 best cover songs you didn’t know were cover songs: (from Popdose)
A hologram of Tupac Shakur performed at the Coachella festival. How did they do that?
–Other Pop Culture News–
Slide show of the Space Shuttle Discovery on its final flight, past several DC landmarks. (The Guardian)
Pulitzer Prize nominations were announced, giving a nod to growing online journalism.
11 Athletes Who Had Their Own Cereals. (Thanks @mental_floss)
J.K. Rowling’s new novel, The Casual Vacancy, will be published September 27.
Did you know crows and squirrels are among the 10 smartest animals? (from Animal Planet)
Soon, you will no longer be able to buy thoughts in Canada, as the country is withdrawing the penny from circulation.
Finally, here is Marc Cohn’s song about Levon Helm, who passed away last week. “I was was lost/ I was gone/ Listening to Levon/ I was looking at the girl/ But I was listening to Levon.” -Marc Cohn.
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As the summer movie blockbuster season approaches, it is a good time to look at the trailer for the movie that incorporates the biggest actors and the biggest scenes. The Movie: The Movie trailer debuted on Jimmy Kimmel Live and features stars such as Tom Hanks, Charlize Theron, Martin Scorsese, George Clooney, Gabourey Sidibe (“Once you go black Hitler you never go back Hitler”), Chewbacca, and many more too numerous to mention.
If you want more, there is also The Making of “Movie: The Movie.”
Now go buy some Hank’s Franks.
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Breaking news is that Levon Helm, the singer and drummer of The Band as well as a solo artist, just passed away, surrounded by family in friends. Heaven just got a great singer and drummer. Check out a recent interview with Helm, and check out this video of “The Weight” with John Hiatt. RIP man.
Also here is Helm’s haunting vocals on “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” from Martin Scorsese’s The Last Waltz.
On his Facebook page yesterday, The Band’s Robbie Robertson wrote of going to visit Helm one last time, concluding, “Levon is one of the most extraordinary talented people I’ve ever known and very much like an older brother to me. I am so grateful I got to see him one last time and will miss him and love him forever.” So will we all.
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At around 5 a.m. on April 19, 1775, approximately 700 British troops marched toward Lexington, Massachusetts. Their plan was to seize weapons and Patriot leaders Samuel Adams and John Hancock.
As the soldiers approached Lexington, they encountered 77 minutemen with arms. During the encounter, “the shot heard ’round the world” was fired by an unidentified musket, and the Patriots were routed. Eight Colonists died from the battle. Ten more were wounded, with one British solder injured.
But that as not the end of the fight. Due to warnings by Patriots Paul Revere and William Dawes, the British encountered more Patriots on their journey through Lexington and Concord. The result was 300 British casualties by the time they returned to Boston. The American Revolution had begun, and the world would never be the same.
Another revolution with both American and British connections is the song, “Revolution,” written by John Lennon and performed by the Beatles. The song was a reaction to political protests occurring in early 1968.
The Beatles released the rock version of the song that you usually hear as a B-side to “Hey Jude” on August 26, 1968. That version, which Rolling Stone ranks as the thirteenth greatest Beatles song, appears at the end of this post.
The Beatles recorded another slower version of the song first. They called this slower version “Revolution 1.” That version appeared on the 1968 double album The Beatles (aka “The White Album
The White Album also included the experimental “Revolution 9.” The Beatles created this song out of parts of what was originally in “Revolution 1.”
Although the rock “Revolution” did not have quite the same impact as the American Revolution, it did cause some controversy. Many focused on the line, “But when you talk about destruction / Don’t you know that you can count me out.” Some on the far left saw the “out” as a betrayal. And those on the other end questioned the ambiguity of the “Revolution 1” version which stated the line as “count me out . . . in.”
Most agree though that “Revolution” preached a different kind of revolution than the violent American Revolution. The song was still causing controversy in 1987. That year, many Beatles fans hated to see the music they loved being commercialized when “Revolution become the first Beatles song licensed for a commercial (for Nike).
But the legacy of the song is that it will come up anytime someone talks about a revolution. It is the first song you think of when you think about revolutionary changes.
The opening scream of “Revolution” is the revolution heard round the world.
BONUS TRIVIA: The live television performance above appears to be from The Smothers Brothers Show in 1968. Although you see Paul McCartney doing the scream at the beginning of the performance above, on the record Lennon’s voice does the scream. McCartney does the scream in the live video because Lennon could not do the scream and be ready to sing the first line. Finally, do you know how many times does the word “revolution” appear in “Revolution”? Answer will appear in the comments.
What do you think of “Revolution”? Leave your two cents in the comments.
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