Rock 'N' Roll Snob

I LOVE this movie. Wikipedia says:

The Filth and the Fury is the second movie Julien Temple made about The Sex Pistols. His first effort was The Great Rock and Roll Swindle, which was released in British cinemas on 15 May 1980. This earlier effort was heavily criticised for being too skewed towards the Pistols’ manager Malcolm McLaren’s version of events about the band. The Filth and the Fury tells the story from the viewpoint of the band members themselves (albeit in silhouette during their contemporary interviews).

The title of the film is a reference to a headline that appeared in the British tabloid newspaper The Daily Mirror on 2 December 1976 after an interview on ITV’s Today presented by Bill Grundy. The title of The Daily Mirror article was itself inspired by William Faulkner’s novel The Sound and the Fury.

Temple’s documentary charts the rise, decline and fall of the Sex Pistols from their humble beginnings in London’s Shepherd’s Bush to their disintegration at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. Temple puts the band into historical context with Britain’s social situation in the 1970s through archival footage from the period. This film was seen in some ways as an opportunity for the Pistols to tell their side of the story, mostly through interviews with the surviving members of the group, footage shot during the era, and outtakes from The Great Rock and Roll Swindle.

That’s the entire film up there. Get to it before they yank it, I say.

…

For a guy who’s been dead 11 years, Joey Ramone is incredibly prolific. His second solo album since his untimely death from lymphoma back in 2001 will be released on May 22. Until then, that corporate rag Rolling Stone is streaming it.

Joey Ramone’s second solo album “… ya know?” is a posthumous collection of demos and unreleased tunes that the Ramones singer recorded over the last 15 years of his life. The set may have been written and recorded at different times, but it’s very cohesive, thanks to the rocker’s distinct vision as a songwriter.

Give it a listen right here.

Quite possibly.

And lest we forget, fuck Stan Polley.

From Rykodisc’s Big Star Live, here’s Alex Chilton chatting with the WLIR DJ before a live audience in 1974.

AllMusic says …

Recorded in the wake of the release of Radio City, Big Star Live documents a freewheeling radio date originally broadcast in 1974. Spotlighting the strongest material from the group’s first two LPs, the mood is both lighthearted and world-weary, the attitude of bandmembers fully cognizant of the fact that the music they’re creating is exceptional, yet dumbfounded by their almost complete lack of commercial success. A cover of Loudon Wainwright’s “Motel Blues” is wholly indicative of Alex Chilton’s mindset at this point in the game; already a battle-scarred veteran of the music industry, his frustration is palpable, lending even greater urgency to remarkable songs like “September Gurls,” “The Ballad of El Goodo,” “O My Soul,” and “Thirteen.” While certainly not the best starting point for new fans, Big Star Live is essential stuff for the converted.

And I can’t disagree.

As a teenager of the eighties, I’m not ashamed to admit that I had a major crush on Josie Cotton after seeing her in the 1983 film Valley Girl. Hold on, I’m going to watch the clip again.

Yep.

Although she’s only in the movie for a few minutes as the lead singer of “Josie Cotton & The Party Crashers” – and really, it only cuts to her for a few seconds at a time while the film sets up the climactic prom fight scene – you’d think she was one of the stars based on the amount of attention that one of her songs received when Valley Girl hit theaters. (Three guesses and the first two don’t count.)

In 2006, Cotton wrote an article for Magnet explaining how “Johnny, Are You Queer?” came to exist, how she wound up recording it and why it was controversial for both liberals and conservatives. It’s a well-written, thoughtful piece by an author who’s had 30 years to reflect, but one part of the story really surprised me.

Forged in the L.A. club scene’s punk-rock underground of the late ’70s, the origins of “Johnny, Are You Queer?” are murky at best. No one can seem to agree about the details, but here’s the story as I understand it. Punk band Fear was the first to perform a version of the song live. They made no mention of any Johnny character; there was just that sing-song melody to the verse, “You’re a fuckin’ queer boy,” screamed in that jugular-vein-popping Fear kind of way. Philo, the guitar player, was credited with writing that original version, but there were rumors that his roommate had actually written it.

Wait, Fear performed “Johhny, Are You Queer?” first? Hunh. Continue reading the article here.

Bonus! I found a 2004 interview with Fear bassist Derf Scratch in which he discusses the song with Mark Prindle:

… Lee couldn’t stand the fact that I was getting as much press if not more than him. It really rubbed him the wrong way. Like Philo wrote the song, “Johnny, Are You Queer?” Remember that?

I don’t know that one.

You do?

I don’t know that song.

It was Josie Cotton. It was a pretty big hit. These guys named the Paine brothers who were the producers played on it and messed around with it a little bit, who later Lee despised. Lee had this way of burning bridges for no reason. I didn’t understand it at all, but I – anyway, so the Paine brothers heard Philo’s version of “100 Downers,” which turned into “Johnny, Are You Queer?” The Paine brothers rewrote the lyrics and rearranged it and said, “Hey, Philo! We’ll give you half-credit – you know, whatever you want. We’re gonna do this with your song.” But Lee hated them so much and Philo didn’t really have that much of a backbone. He really hated confrontations; he’d do anything to avoid them. So he called Lee and said, “What should I do?” and Lee goes, “Don’t take any credit. Don’t have anything to do with it.” Well, the song became a hit, and Philo did what he said – he didn’t take any credit. I mean, he would have made 50 grand, you know? I can’t believe that Lee would do that. And so…. So, umm…. Let’s take a break here. Ask me some questions. You got any questions?

Allegedly the first Marshall stack, autographed by the man himself, Jim Marshall.

Donald “Duck” Dunn, bass player for Booker T. & The M.G.’s, died in his sleep yesterday while on tour in Japan. He was 70.

The pixel foundry is kicking my ass sideways this week. Have a relaxing weekend.

Hey ladies in the place I’m callin’ out to ya
There never was a city kid truer and bluer
There’s more to me than you’ll ever know
And I’ve got more hits than Sadaharu Oh
Tom Thumb Tom Cushman or Tom Foolery
Date women on TV with the help of Chuck Woolery
Words are flowing out just like the Grand Canyon
And I’m always out looking for a female companion
I threw the lasso around the tallest one and dragged her to the crib
I took off her moccasins and put on my bib
I’m wheelin’ and dealin’ I make a little bit of stealing
I’ll bring you back to the place and your dress I’m peeling
Your body’s on time and your mind is appealing
Staring at the cracks up there upon the ceiling
Some such nonsense is the bass that I’m throwing
Talking to a girl telling her I’m all knowing
She’s talking to the kid to the who
I’m telling her every lie that you know that I never did
Hey ladies, get funky

Me in the corner with a good looking daughter
I dropped my drawers said welcome back Kotter
We were cutting up the rug she started cutting up the carpet
In my apartment I begged her please stop it
The gift of gab is the gift that I have
And that girl ain’t nothing but a crab
Educated no stupid yes
And when I say stupid I mean stupid fresh
I’m not James at 15 or Chachi in charge
I’m Adam and I’m adamant about living large
With the white sassoons and the looks that kill
Makin’ love in the back of my Coupe De Ville
I met a little cutie she was all hopped up on zootie
I liked the little cutie but I kicked her in the bootie
Cause I don’t kinda go for that messin’ around
You be listening to my records a number one sound
Step to the rhythm step step to the ride
I’ve got an open mind so why don’t you all get inside
Tune in turn on to my tune that’s live
Ladies flock like bees to a hive
Hey ladies, get funky

She’s got a gold tooth you know she’s hardcore
She’ll show you a good time then she’ll show you the door
Break up with your girl it ended in tears
Vincent Van Gogh cold mailed that ear
I call her in the middle of the night when I’m drinking
The phone booth on the corner is damp and it’s stinking
She said come on over it was me that she missed
I threw that trash can through her window cause you know I got dissed
Your old lady left you and you went girls insane
You blew yourself up in the back of the 6 train
Take my advice at any price a gorilla like your mother is mighty weak
Sucking down pints till I didn’t know
Woke up in the morning at the one ton ho
Cause I announce I like girls that bounce
With the weight that pays about a pound per ounce
Girls with curls and big long locks
And beatnik chicks just wearing their smocks
Walking high and mighty like she’s number one
She thinks she’s the passionate one
Hey ladies, get funky