Stonehearst: The Douser Dossier

Jeopardy Contestant: I’d like asylum films for $500 please, Alex.

Alex Trebek: This 2014 film was loosely based on Edgar Allen Poe’s short story “The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fethers.”

Contestant: What is “Stonehearst Asylum”?

Trebek: Correct! You now have control of the board.

It’s weird how different trends come and go, and films about mental asylums are no exception. Case in point is the aforementioned “Stonehearst Asylum”, which was written by Joseph Gangemi and directed by Brad Anderson. It’s a very British film and features some well-known actors like Michael Caine, Kate Beckinsdale, Ben Kingsley, and James Sturgess. I figured I’d find a very British band’s music to go along so I chose “Acute Schizophrenia Paranoia Blues” by The Kinks from the “Muswell Hillbillies” album, which is named after Ray and Dave Davies’ neighborhood in London.

Let’s make it a British Twin Spin by including “My Generation/Land of Hope and Glory” by The Who.

By the way, familiar face David Thewlis plays a character known as “Mickey Finn” …as in “slip someone a Mickey.” (Apparently, there’s now a brand of apple whiskey liqueur bearing the same name of the notorious douser. It could come in handy around the holidays when you’ve had enough of obnoxiously chatty guests.)

The main theme of the film is basically about who’s running the asylum. The main character arrives after the other residents, so viewers have to try to figure it out, too. Another thing I’ll say is Michael Caine is not in every single scene as he tends to be in some of his other films. Personally, I’m fine with that. The film is close to two hours long so that may be a factor for some viewers, but I enjoyed it. I haven’t read the Poe short story which inspired the film, but it sounds interesting.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

O.G. = Original Gojira

I hope that movie monster Godzilla never becomes a hidden gem, but I feel obligated to blog about the creature all the same. I was born in 1970 and had the privilege to grow up watching reruns of these sci-fi, effects-driven films. Today I watched the original 1954 film “Godzilla”, which was directed and written by Ishiro Honda. (Takeo Murata also shares a screenwriting credit.) There are plenty of other Godzilla films, but this original one most definitely captures the paranoia of post-war Japan. Godzilla is associated with radiation. Then, of course, there’s the musical tribute a la Blue Oyster Cult.

I jammed this song on guitar once with a couple of friends-of-friends during college. It’s pretty catchy in its own way.

Here are some other general observations about the original 1954 film. First, one of the characters was played by actor Takashi Shimura. (While I haven’t seen tons of Japanese films, this dude was in over 20 of director Akira Kurosawa’s films. He must have been like the Tom Hanks of Tokyo.) He also appeared in the 1955 sequel “Godzilla Raids Again.” In case you’re wondering, the Godzilla franchise has spawned close to 40 films total. Apparently, that’s a world record.

What else? The actual origin of the name “Gojira” is a combination of “whale” and “gorilla” in Japanese. While most prehistoric creatures didn’t have vocal cords, Godzilla’s roar was created by using a standup bass, gloves, etc. Eiji Tsuburaya is the special effects guy who was involved in creating Godzilla and the kaiju (“strange beast”) film genre with Ishiro Honda. Well-played on the roars.

Japan boasts a Godzilla museum and theme park. There’s also an attraction called Tobu World Square which features miniature famous buildings in case you want to stomp around like Godzilla….I mean, who doesn’t?

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Whack-A-Stream?

I’ve been thinking about words this week. More specifically, how words and phrases can change over time. For example, the term that has been on my mind is “streaming.” Growing up, I don’t recall hearing the word stream used as a verb unless someone was incorrectly calling the Six Flags roller coaster The Screaming Eagle by the wrong name of The Streaming Eagle. Ugghh.

In any event, I stream plenty of movies on my Roku TV and I rarely pay for premium channels or films. However, here’s one one thing I’ve noticed. Occasionally, I search for a film by its title. I find a free version of it available for streaming, but when I click on it, it’s a film with the same name, but it’s NOT the film I want to see. Sarah McLachlan might call this “Building a Mystery”, but I call it “Whack-A-Stream.”

This happened to me tonight. The 2002 film “The Count of Monte Cristo” appeared in one of my searches. There was even a graphic with Guy Pearce’s picture in it, but when I clicked on it I got the 1975 version with Richard Chamberlin. Now what do I do? I mean there’s no phone number to call or anything like that. I’ve had the same thing happen with films who share the same title, but are NOT remakes of the same story. They just have the same title.

It’s awesome that we can call stream these movies free of charge, but it has its foibles. Here’s another example. I streamed the original Star Wars film for free recently. A few days later it’s no longer available on the same network, but it IS available on another one. How does that work exactly? Do we just use The Force to find it? I don’t know. I’m not sure if Whack-A-Stream is the best term for this phenomenon, but it’s what I’ve got for now.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

P.S. Apparently, the arcade game was spelled Whac-A-Mole (no “K”) for the record.

Courtin’ the Frogs

This weekend I watched my fair share of movies including one advertising monsters. This one in particular called “Cold Skin” (2017) has the tagline “A young man arrives at a remote island to take a post of weather observer only to find himself defending the watchtower from deadly creatures which live in the island shores.” The film opens with a quote from philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche about men, monsters, and abysses. I was intrigued and found out the deadly creatures are some sort of amphibious Mermen/Mermaids or Frog People. The first song that popped into my head was Bob Dylan’s take on “Froggie Went a Courtin’ ”

In a loose way, this film reminded me of the 1985 film “Enemy Mine”, which also featured a small number of main characters stranded at a remote location. From what I read, “Cold Skin” took 10 years to get made. Its ratings are around the 5-6 range on a scale of 1-10.

There’s basically a young, fresh faced dude and an older Viking-ish dude who are stuck on this remote island with a lighthouse. Then, there are these monstrous Frog People invaders. However, there’s also one female Frog Person. She’s so friendly that there’s even interspecies intermingling? Fortunately we’re spared the gory details, but Yikes!!

I’d be curious to know what inspired the writers and directors to come up with this one. I thought about including the Jimi Hendrix tune “1983… (A Merman I Should Turn to Be)”, but decided against it.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Ain’t That Lovin’ You, Etta

If I had to pick one musician whose influence, in my humble opinion, will always be underrated it’s Jimmy Reed. Maybe it’s because the singers and bands he influenced are the kind of stuff I like ….ZZ Top, Jimmie Vaughan, George Thorogood, and many more. Today I was scrolling through some info about Etta James and found a cover of Jimmy Reed’s “Ain’t That Lovin’ You, Baby”.

You can hear James’ powerful bluesy growl on this live recording. I like the rawness of it, especially compared to some of her other studio recordings which tend to have a lot of strings on them. Not my bag, Baby!

Another good version I found today is by Delbert McClinton.

Since it’s Jimmy Reed, it makes sense that harmonica is featured on some of these different versions. Here is the original by Reed.

You have over 50 versions out there to choose from including: Elvis, The Rolling Stones, Steve Miller Band, Rod Stewart, John Hammond, Link Wray, Dale Hawkins, and even Eric Clapton. Ronnie Wood of The Rolling Stones also has a live concert tribute album to Jimmy Reed with a version of this, too. So much music, so little time!

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Super Ballers or Super Bawlers?

Did you get a chance to watch Super Bowl 59? I’d include the Roman numerals, but math has never been my thing and have been sick of hearing about the Super Bowl, especially The Chiefs, for weeks, if not months. Here’s an example.

Last week I caught a portion of a local Kansas City TV newscast. During said show, they ran an uber peppy Hy-Vee commercial with all of the news team discussing what they wear on game days. You know, a red and gold hoodie, necktie, superstitions, etc. After yesterday’s enormous 40-22 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Chiefs fans, and some players, are “Crying” a la Roy Orbison.

As for the actual Super Bowl game, it lived up to its billing of being an over-hyped, one-sided blowout of a game in the Eagles favor. Here are a few observations from off the field action:

  1. Did The Eagles get Lady GooGoo to put some kind of musical voodoo hex on the Chiefs? I mean she looked like an albino mushroom. GooGoo, rah, rah, rah?
  2. The halftime show is always part of the Super Bowl hype. Did Kendrick Lamar choreograph all of the synchronized nodding to his music or did someone get paid for that?
  3. Three-peat. I heard this expression a lot recently in Kansas City. Some of the media even pointed out that the phrase is copyrighted. All for naught.
  4. I saw an interesting, but creepy AI tribute to broadcaster and former Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson.

The Kansas City Chiefs and their fans must be gravely disappointed by the outcome of yesterday’s game. To make things worse, we all saw some really quality shots of Mahomes and Kelce looking sad and dejected on the sidelines. That’s quite a contrast to the usual shots of Kelce’s brother and mother respectively drinking shirtless or pop star sensation Taylor Swift celebrating a big play.

In addition, we got to see tears streaming down the faces of Mahomes, Kelce, and Chris Jones. One of the many media angles was that Jones cries during the national anthem because he has to work himself into some sort of berserker rage before kickoff. This is the same guy who missed all of 2023’s training camp during a contract dispute. According to website StatMuse, Jones did not record a tackle during Super Bowl 59. All I can say is, “Boo Hoo!”

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Blues for J.S.T.

I had an offhand conversation with a musician friend today and he mentioned the name of British blues guitarist Joanne Shaw Taylor. I hadn’t heard of her, but I respect his opinion so I had to check her out. Her latest release is appropriately entitled “The Blues Album”(2024) and features a cover of “Three Time Loser”, which I associate with Wilson Pickett.

The song was written by Ronald Miller and Donald Covay. I also checked out a couple of J.S.T.’s other covers including “Wishing Well”, which I associate with Paul Rodgers — more specifically the band Free.

(I believe all of the band members in Free are credited with the songwriting credits on this one.) My friend seemed to say Joanne Shaw Taylor was discovered by fellow blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa, but Wikipedia gives the credit on that front to Dave Stewart. So far I’ve also checked out a live cover of “Summertime” with Joe Bonamassa and another live song with Kenny Wayne Shepherd. Give her credit for on the vocals as well! I look forward to checking out her originals.

So many blues guitarists…so little time.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Simmons: Singer-Songwriter?

When you think of the hard rock band KISS, your first thought might be of the 70s, their stage show, or specific songs. I started thinking about how many songs the band members wrote and recorded. Bass playing demon Gene Simmons has written around 100 songs and recorded even more. While boogie woogie piano doesn’t usually go hand in hand with any of those things, Simmons did come up with something called “Christine Sixteen” for their 1977 release “Love Gun.”

The song’s style reminds me of a 50s style rock n roll song with its spoken word recitation in the middle of it, but you’ll also hear suspended guitar chords a la The Rolling Stones in it as well.

Apparently, Alex and Eddie Van Halen played on the demo version of this tune. I found out about that while watching some YouTube videos about “Gene Simmons Vault” which was released in 2018. It contains over 100 song demos and some collectible stuff for the super fans. Another interesting thing I learned is Simmons actually wrote a song with none other than Bob Dylan called “Waiting for the Morning Light.”

Apparently Simmons even recorded their writing session which, I believe, is on the previously mentioned “Vault” collection. It makes me wonder if Simmons wanted to record it for posterity, to prove it actually happened, or just for the dough.

By the way, Dylan donned the whole white pseudo-Kabuki style makeup during The Rolling Thunder Revue. Does Simmons get credit for that, too? I mean KISS did the same thing, right?

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Starship Trooper – The Reprise

I know I have previously blogged about the band Yes, but I am doing it again. Why? Watch this insanely good live version of “Starship Trooper” from the 80s and, hopefully, you’ll understand. I believe this is Montreal in 1984. I came home from a long day and was pleased to find this on YouTube.

This 80s version of the mighty prog rock band doesn’t include Steve Howe on lead guitar. While that may be blasphemous to hardcore fans, this live clip, in my humble opinion, just can’t be denied. I’d love to tell you some deep understanding of the lyrics to this song, but the performance overrules that. You can tell the band is really into it and really enjoying themselves.

After reading a few comments on YouTube, the term “tone” is mentioned in reference to both the guitar playing of Trevor Rabin and bassist Chris Squire as well. Lead singer Jon Anderson’s voice is spot on in his own truly unique way.

Visually, you can see the band had reinvented their look to, presumably, appeal to a new generation of fans — and these fans had MTV. I really enjoyed seeing and hearing them. I may be way off base, but Rabin’s shirt reminds me of Picasso’s “Guernica.”

The band Yes is special to me because “90125” was the first cassette tape I ever bought. The album has plenty of great harmony blended with some music that really rocks! I had never heard anything like this band before that purchase. I’d never heard arrangements or lyrics put together in this way. While “Starship Trooper” is from a previous record, I think this live version makes the case for the musicianship of Yes — especially Montreal 1984.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Chiefs…Schmeefs

We’re fast approaching another “Red Friday” in Kansas City and I, for one, could give a shit less. It’s true. I know I’m in “Chiefs Kingdom”, but I just don’t care about this chapter of NFL football. I’m not a pep rally, bandwagon, do what’s popular kind of guy. I can’t wait for the football season to be over — the sooner the better.

I heard a radio news story which puts The Chiefs’ local economic impact at somewhere close to one BILLION dollars; however, the whole thing is just completely out of control. You have your Chiefs t-shirts, hats, hoodies, scarves, mugs, etc. Then there’s Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift…but wait, there’s more!

A recent TV news story’s focus was about a replica of Arrowhead Stadium made completely out of cake. Earth shattering. I have already seen plenty of stories about Chiefs themed cookies and donuts — usually modeled after a headband-adorned Patrick Mahomes and headgear/ball cap wearing Andy Reid. In my opinion, “It’s All Too Much.”

I’m not sure when the trend of NFL player pastries became a thing, but I missed it. Also, if that doesn’t make you nauseous, there was even a Hallmark movie called “Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story.” Barf. And, did I mention Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift??

Let’s not forget that outgoing former Missouri Governor Mike Parson was such a big Chiefs fan, he commuted the DWI sentence of Britt Reid — he’s the ex-Chiefs coach/son of Andy Reid who maimed a young girl near the real Arrowhead Stadium. In a separate incident, Jackson Mahomes (Patrick’s brother) was charged with 3 counts of aggravated sexual battery; however, those charges were all dropped.

By the way, Patrick Mahomes now has 3 kids who are named something like Sterling, Golden, and Bronze. If he has more children, I’m hoping they’ll be named Frankincense and Myrrh. Myrrh Mahomes has a nice ring to it. Wait a minute, maybe they could name one Super Bowl Ring! Also, how about this “things are rough all over” news story. T-shirt vendors are upset about the inability to create “3-peat” t-shirts due to copyright issues. Wait a minute….that’s what they should have named their third child!

In all honesty, Patrick Mahomes has reached levels of athletic greatness and he seems to conduct himself well off the field. I absolutely give him credit for that. Same for Andy Reid. I just don’t want to sit and watch the 3 films about them and the ensuing 3 prequels. Oh, and over 30 people were injured during last year’s Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade shooting. What was the economic impact of that event?

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!