Add kicker Tom Dempsey to the list..
It wasn't from Covid-19 but rather heart complications but Bill Withers has passed away. Ain't No Sunshine is one of my all time favorite songs. Rest in peace.
"The future ain't what it used to be."
Add kicker Tom Dempsey to the list..
Quite a video of his record breaking historic kick in 1970. It's amazing how different the approach to a kick is nowadays.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1246670806916173826
Being born without any toes on his right foot and without a right hand, Dempsey clearly overcame a lot in his life. Some argue that his custom shoe that had a large flat front gave him an advantage, which I think is indisputable that it does allow for much more distance with everything else being equal, but I'd think accuracy might be harder.
Amazingly, his record stood for 43 years until Prater hit a 64-yarder.
RIP
As a huge FoW fan, I was incredibly sad when I saw this news yesterday. Schlesinger was incredibly talented--he participated in several bands, including FoW and Eve, plus he had written for a lot of movies and TV since his success with "That Thing." He was the musical director for Crazy Ex Girlfriend, for example, and I've read stories of him contributing things like theme songs to TV shows on a lark.
While I love everything Fountains did--they're one of the few bands whose albums I listen to straight through, even in this digital age--to me, "That Thing" is an amazing achievement. When you think about the assignment, "write a song that sounds exactly like a 1960's pop hit, make it so good we can build an entire movie around it as a one-hit-wonder that we play over and over again, AND make it SO GOOD that modern audiences will like it and hum along to it today as if it were a beloved favorite," it's just mind-boggling. But he pulled it off.
As Jason said, I have a feeling this thread is going to be a lot longer by the time we're done, but this was a big blow to me.
How often is a movie built around a single song?? And would you ever build a movie around a song that was not already an established hit?!!?!?
And to do it without a known band... I mean The Beatles built movies around songs a couple times but they were the freaking Beatles. Here the band was a bunch of little known actors (Steve Zahn and Tom Everett Scott are not exactly mega-stars) and the least known actor in the entire band was the lead freaking singer!!
It is ridiculous to even think about.
-Jason "TTYD lost the Golden Globe and Academy Award for best song to Madonna's 'You Must Love Me' from Evita... which has withstood the test of time better? Ha!" Evans
Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?
and speaking of Tom Dempsey and his record that wasn't broken for 43 years, and movies: anyone TV or movie watchers out there notice Charlie Gogolak with lots of TV and movie producer credits? He (kicking for Princeton in the sixties) and his brother (Pete, kicking for Cornell) popularized the soccer style kick...thought to be not much more than a novelty at first, now try finding a kicker who does it straight on...
Kind of random but this reminded Paul Simons “Mrs Robinson”. Was surprised listening to this clip that the song wasn’t fully recorded and released until after the movie.
https://youtu.be/sDqIsuIpVy4
If there were ever a thread for iconic movie songs I’d have to throw out “Somebody’s Baby” in my top 5 but I loved FTARH and probably saw it 4-5 times in theaters the year it can out.
OK, speaking of Fountains of Wayne. Does anyone else hear a little bit of the hook from Shanaia Twain's "That Don't Impress Me Much" in the guitar solo of Stacey's Mom? I've heard it clear as day since the first time I heard the song but I've yet to find anyone else who agrees.
John Prine succumbs:
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/m...e-obit-253684/
Really bummed.
John Prine had many, many brilliant songs. My personal favorite is Souvenirs, a duet with Steve Goodman. In my mind, the combination of poignant lyrics, dual guitar playing, and vocal harmonies in this song are about as close to perfect as it gets.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...nUZOJl_1MRwcYQ
RIP John Prine. Truly one of the best. Some say Dylan but I'm Team Prine. Enjoy that cigarette and cocktail sir, you've earned it.
https://youtu.be/JKPDFQRmG_M
Souvenirs is one of the first songs I learned to finger pick and I still play and sing it often. JP’s 70s songs are classic but he never stopped writing great songs. I’m partial to some of his 80s work that isn’t as heralded. Aimless Love, Bruised Orange and One Red Rose are 3 of my all time favorites.
https://youtu.be/5a-LRFyQ2Pc
https://youtu.be/Rj-kH7LPeZ4
https://youtu.be/lFD2wZaBciY
We all miss artists in our own pop cultural journey. I missed John Prine. Knew the name, but I am 44, graduated Duke in '98, and seem to have missed him. When I found out he was sick, saw how people I respected were reacting, and read more about his influence, I started listening more. Amazing. Huge loss, but I feel like I found something diving into his stuff.
He definitely deserves his own thread. Could a moderator break out the posts about the great Mr. Prine?
He wrote an awful lot of great songs. Some not mentioned (I think) yet here: Angel from Montgomery (brilliantly covered by many, but especially by Bonnie Raitt), Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore, Illegal Smile, Clay Pigeons, Paradise etc. I could keep going.
His last recording, The Tree of Forgiveness, is great, too. It includes a song titled "When I Get To Heaven", which I hope means that John Prine was at peace with dying.
He did a great interview on NPR's Fresh Air, with Terry Gross, when Tree of Forgiveness came out: https://www.johnprine.com/news/liste...th-terry-gross
One of my favorite Prine stories came out after his second duets album, "For Better, or Worse", about how a pedal steel guitar can change any song:
'We cut every one of them live except the Alison Krauss track ("Falling In Love Again"). The band was really hot one night, and we had done three artists, and still had an hour left over. We cut the track, and I sang on it. It came off so good. [Producer] Jim Rooney asked me 'How in the heck can that be a country song?" I told him to put some steel on it. That's how we pitched it to Alison.'
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/...221012143.html
I truly mean this:
I feel better about the life I have lived by the number of friends and social follows of mine who were as moved by John Prine as I have been. He could express the most basic raw emotions (humor, pathos, sadness, anger, tension) in the simplest of words.
For those who are not familiar or only slightly, John had three live albums (John Prine Live, In Person & On Stage, Live On Tour) which give the humor and warmth of his shows. He was a fantastic story-teller and his live banter really shows his skills.
A true early classic (although his later stuff is just as compelling in different ways):
Bill Murray and John Prine together: