Movie Review: “Joni 75”
Last fall, I was intrigued when I heard about an all-star concert to celebrate Joni Mitchell’s 75th birthday. Like many in my generation, I grew up on Joni’s music, but since I couldn’t be there, I hoped the show would be recorded on film. Fortunately, it was. Unfortunately, it’s not as good an experience as I’d hoped.
Springsteen On Broadway
Earlier this year, I lamented that I wouldn't get to see Bruce Springsteen's one-man Broadway show because I don't get back to New York as often as I used to, and the seats were prohibitively expensive. My brother and sister-in-law, who live on the east coast, did get...
Wish I’d Seen Them
Some friends who saw the movie "Bohemian Rhapsody" were talking about how much they wish they'd been able to go to a Queen concert at the height of the band's popularity. That led to a discussion of which acts from the past we each would have liked to see. Atop...
A Girl Named Johnny Cash
In the 1970s, I was a fan of Martin Mull's work, from his TV appearances ("Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman," "Fernwood Tonight," "Roseanne") to his movie roles ("FM," "Serial") to his concert performances, in which he always had living room furniture on stage to make...
Picture Of The Day: Roy Clark
If you've never heard of Roy Clark (who died yesterday at 85), or only know him from his 24 years hosting "Hee Haw," watch this to see what a versatile guitarist he was. It's a montage of clips from a 1975 episode of "The Odd Couple" which was built entirely around...
Picture Of The Day: Elton John
This is a masterfully-made commercial for a high-end department store in the UK...
The Concert I Walked Out Of
Last month, I wrote about two occasions I can remember when I walked out of a movie because it was so bad. Yesterday, my friend David Craig and I were discussing concerts we'd seen, and I flashed back to one of those that I walked out of, too. In the 1990s, we were...
Best Thing I’ve Read Today
Andy Greene of Rolling Stone fact-checked the movie "Bohemian Rhapsody" and found several things it got wrong. Among them: The group never split up. The movie veers the furthest from reality in the build-up to their 1985 performance at Live Aid. There’s a dramatic...