| re: Jim's inspirations | |
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Posted by: |
Barclay 02:57 pm UTC 10/01/16 |
| In reply to: | Jim's inspirations - rockfenris2005 12:19 am UTC 10/01/16 |
| Great thread; here are 11, in chronological order: 1. Hank Williams – ‘I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry’ Jim has name-checked this song two or three times. It’s probably Hank’s best, for me; the lyric about a falling star lighting up a purple sky is particularly feeling and redolent with heartache. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WXYjm74WFI 2. North by Northwest I don’t know if Jim came up with the concept for the Braver artwork, but Meat mentioned that this stunning scene in the Hitchcock classic romance–adventure influenced it. On a similar note, there’s a scene in Psychomania (1973) in which a motorcycle bursts out of the grave. I’ve heard it cited as an influence on the Bat artwork, but don’t think Jim has ever confirmed this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EK1o6ixoe_I 3. Phil Spector I think Phil’s most gothic production is ‘He’s Sure the Boy I Love’ (or the famous ‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling’), but here’s something more obscure but still considered one of his best, three years subsequent to his ‘retirement’ after the American chart failure of ‘River Deep – Mountain High’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGVQYWjEICo 4. The Doors I guess Morrison influenced Jim’s spoken word pieces, and the latter has talked of brooding in front of the mirror, trying to look like the Lizard King. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7mryfh3zT8 5. The Beach Boys Jim spoke of crying listening to Pet Sounds. This is the darkest song the Boys did, off the top of my head, when Brian was on the verge of his ‘bed’ period. Fellow Beach Boy Bruce Johnston called it the last truly *great* song Brian wrote. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bYufmMkiA4 6. Follies This is Sally Durant Plummer’s solo/aria from my favourite piece of musical theatre; I think Jim mentioned it as one the great works of art and that he saw it on Broadway in ’71. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reFNhkDN0Fk 7. The Last Picture Show Jim has called this one of his favourite films and it’s probably my absolute favourite. Based on a novel by one of my favourite authors, Larry McMurtry, I adore the way it tackles youth and death simultaneously, with plenty of sexual politics thrown in. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWSvo0eMK7E 8. Jimmy Webb One of my favourite songwriters; Jim might’ve mentioned him being his hero at some point. Jimmy loves science fiction, and this one talks of escaping this world and travelling to Alpha Centauri. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyJED-xSQME 9. Bruce Springsteen Probably my favourite Bruce song; I remember Jim saying something about telling Springsteen that he should close with it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HC4bf67s5lQ 10. Martyrs This was cited as one of Jim’s favourite horror movies, and it’s one of mine, too. I find it quite profound in places, albeit pervasively brutal. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7Qx2dT-lUw 11. Holy Motors I remember Jim mentioning this as one of the great films of all time. I don’t necessarily disagree; it’s uncompromising, which is cool. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5Cww89TbkE | |
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