It’s time to catch up to several things I’ve been raving about to anyone who’ll listen. Last weekend I saw “The Good Liar” starring Helen Mirren and Ian McKellan. The story has a great script, aces acting and fun twists of suspense and trickery . This is one of those movies I did not want to end. This teacher gives it a B+.
The documentary “Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice” is another great watch. It’s narrated by Ms. Ronstadt with cool stories from peers like Dolly Parton, Emmy Lou Harris, Bonnie Raitt and Aaron Neville, plus former lover J.D. Souther, music entertainment mogul David Geffen and other associates.
It’s amazing how everything Linda Ronstadt attempted in music was so well done and successful. From singing pop and country hits for years to the success on Broadway in “The Pirates of Penzance”, big band recordings with Nelson Riddle plus she delved into her family’s Mexican roots with Spanish sung albums.
Of course the downer of “The Sound of My Voice” is the revelation that Linda Ronstadt’s life has been compromised by Parkinson’s disease. At the end of the movie there were many sniffles from folks in the theater and yes, I too had to wipe away some tears. I gave this one a grade of an A.
If you don’t get a chance to see “The Sound of My Voice” (it will eventually air on CNN, who co-produced the project) then check out this link to a CBS Sunday Morning feature on Linda Ronstadt.
One of my all time favorite country singer-songwriters is Clint Black and he just issued live album titled “Still Killin’ Time.” The concert tracks find Clint in fine voice, thirty years after releasing his monster five hit singles debut album “Killin’ Time.” Plus there are bonus tracks including “This Old House.” Black sings that one with help from artists Travis Tritt, Trace Adkins, Darius Rucker, Steve Wariner, Sara Evans, Dierks Bentley and Michael Ray.
You can check out the video for “This Old House” here.
I’m embarrassingly several years late to the prom for the phenomenon of Choir! Choir! Choir! Musicians Daveed Goldman and Nobu Adilman recruit masses of strangers together in various cities and get these instantly formed crowds to rehearse then sing classic rock and pop songs with chilling harmonic arrangements and interpretations. Tom Petty’s “Free Falling”, REM’s “Losing My Religion” and Patty Smith’s “Because the Night” are just a few of the songs you can catch on You Tube. However below is my favorite, as Talking Heads’ founder David Byrne sings the lead with help from a cast of many on David Bowie’s “Heroes.”
Last month Elton John released his autobiography “Me.” While a ghostwriter helped on this project, the stories are told through the large framed sparkly eyeglasses view of the former Reginald Kenneth Dwight turned pop and rock superstar Elton John.
Being a longtime fan of Elton’s, much of what’s in the pages are tales I was familiar with. Still, I found unknown to me pieces to Mr. John’s story like the personal insights to his failed 1984 marriage to a woman while being a gay man. Elton also covers a more recent anecdote, his dealing with and subsequent defeat over prostate cancer. There’s also an inside look at a failed attempt to do a duets concert tour with Tina Turner. It turns out Tina Turner can be quite the difficult artist!
Elton John’s sobriety is chronicled but this was the part of the book I felt a bit let down by. He talks about what led him to Parkside Clinic at Lutheran General Hospital for treatment of alcoholism, drug addiction and bulimia in 1990. However, I wanted to learn more about the physical and emotional challenges he went through when detoxing from booze and cocaine. Elton makes it sound like his biggest problem in rehab was learning how to work a washing machine and accepting the program’s rules on phone usage. Being a longtime addict he had to have gotten dope sick and gone through hell physically and mentally while in treatment. We get none of that in the book.
Still, “Me” is a real eye opener for any Elton John fan and more than worth the time to read.
PLAYING CHICKEN
Finally, there’s been all the hoopla over Popeye’s chicken sandwich that has had people fight and even kill over the damn things. Last week I sampled one (after a 15 minute wait in a drive thru lane) and it was pretty darn good. Three days later after getting some recommends for it, I checked out the chicken sandwich from Fry the Coop. Wow! Bigger and meatier and just a couple bucks more than Popeye’s offering but much better! I’m not into super spicy eats so I opted for the basic sandwich and fries. Next time I’ll ask for it plain with just mayo, because I don’t like having cole slaw or pickles on my sandwiches. I teach at a school in Oak Lawn and live in Elmhurst and the two Fry the Coop locations are in those two towns! How lucky can a guy get?
NEXT WEEK’S BLOG- Things to be thankful for.