BEFORE: It's funny how the whole world of cinema is connected via archive footage, and I think I see that more prominently during Doc Block season. Like it was kind of weird that the "Earth, Wind & Fire" doc used footage from "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", right? Just to illustrate the point that the band kind of liked weird alien stuff? But that footage had Richard Dreyfuss in it, which allowed me to connect to the doc about "Jaws". It's very bizarre that these things just kind of fall into my lap, but I'm more than happy to take advantage of them.
In a similar way, this stock-umentary about the late Roy Orbison uses a clip from "Blue Velvet", because Dean Stockwell's character famously lip-synched to Roy's song "In Dreams" in a very creepy scene that really made no sense. (I mean, even for a David Lynch film, WTF?) But that footage is included here, making it the perfect way for David Lynch to carry over from "David Lynch: The Art Life". Lynch is interviewed here to talk about why he wanted to use Roy's song, yet of course he also fails to explain THAT scene. Why would he?
This film also gives me a chance to profile another state - no, not Texas where Roy was born, I'm going to pick the state he MOVED to, in order to record with Sun Records, the label of Johnny Cash and early Elvis. Their headquarters was in Memphis, and I know because I visited that studio and saw Roy's records hanging on the wall. So tonight's "Get to Know a State" feature focuses on TENNESSEE:
Date admitted to the U.S.: June 1, 1796 (16th state)
Claim to fame: Nashville, so all kinds of music and pretty great BBQ. Also whiskey.
Nickname: The Volunteer State
State Motto: Agriculture and Commerce. Seems about right, couldn't get music in there, though?
State Flower: Iris AND passion flower - seems like somebody couldn't make up their mind?
State Fish: Channel catfish AND smallmouth bass. Same problem?
State Bird: Northern mockingbird AND bobwhite quail. Yeah, I'm sensing a theme.
State Tree: Tulip poplar AND Easter red cedar. Why am I not surprised there are two?
State mammal: Tennessee walking horse AND raccoon. Yep, two of everything.
Notable Sports Teams: Thank God, only one of each - Titans in the NFL, Grizzlies in the NBA and Predators in the NHL. Predators? Really? That word doesn't have a bad connotation?
Fun Facts: In 1784 three counties broke off from North Carolina and tried to form a new state, called Franklin. Benjamin Franklin reportedly said, "Geez, I'm honored, but I live in Philadelphia, please leave me out of this." Franklin didn't have enough support to join the Union as a state, but another 8 counties west of there later joined in, and North Carolina gave up the territory in 1790, then it took another few years for there to be enough residents to qualify as a state. The nickname of "The Volunteer State" dates back to the War of 1812, when 3,500 people from Tennessee answered a recruitment call for the war effort, and they played a major role under Andrew Jackson in the Battle of New Orleans, which we all know was technically fought after the war was over, it's just that the news didn't reach the army in time. Well, OK the Treaty of Ghent had been SIGNED 15 days before the battle, but it wasn't ratified by the U.S. for another two months, so who's to say if the battle was "necessary" or not, you're just quibbling at that point, right?
Yes, I've been to Tennessee, we went through there on our first BBQ Crawl, which started in Dallas, TX, went through Little Rock, AR and then Memphis on the way to Nashville. So we had great BBQ in both major Tennessee cities, and in Memphis we visited a giant pyramid that holds the world's largest Bass Pro Shop, and we had dinner in a restaurant that specializes in wild game on top of that pyramid, with a great view of the Mississippi River. Good times, then we had BBQ from a restaurant near our hotel, only to come back to our room and watch as the Food Network declared that exact restaurant as their #1 pick for BBQ in the entire country. What are the odds? We also visited Graceland, of course, and then stood in the Sun Records studio lobby before driving to Nashville. In Nashville we saw a Parthenon and had more great BBQ.
Now I'm up to 20 states visited out of 25, and I'm at the halfway point of this year's Doc Block tonight.
THE PLOT: Roy Orbison's journey from "Pretty Woman" to The Traveling Wilburys, featuring his legendary music and career through interviews with Johnny Cash, Tom Petty, Bono and other stars who shaped his iconic legacy.
AFTER: I had a dream about Pee-Wee Herman last night. I guess if Roy Orbison sang about "a candy-colored clown they call the Sandman" then my candy-colored clown is Pee-Wee. In my dream the government was sending celebrities to spy on people when they were home alone, and I drew Paul Reubens, who was doing a very bad job of hiding in my house, like I found him right away, trying to hide under the bed and failing. I know exactly where the dream came from, scanning through the doc "Overnight" trying to figure out where he appears - plus I saw an Instagram video from Comic-Con of somebody dressed like him, also Trump tried to insult someone by saying they looked like "Pinkie Herman". Well, it's like Beetlejuice, after I see three references to Pee-Wee Herman, he pops up in my dreams. Then in the dream I was talking to Steve Martin about it, and he didn't seem to know who Pee-Wee Herman was, which meant I had to do an impression of Pee-Wee saying "I'm trying to use the PHONE!" so he would get it.
Well, jeez, I'm awake now, a dream like that will do a number on you though. I'm surprised Pee-Wee wasn't singing a Roy Orbison song into a light fixture while Dennis Hopper and Kyle MacLachlan looked on. Yes, David Lynch is back for a third night, talking about how he used Roy's song in "Blue Velvet" and how Roy was NOT happy about it, at least at first. I guess it's better to ask for forgiveness later than to ask for permission first, because later Roy (allegedly) came around and said that was really the perfect use of his song. Umm, sure he did, David, or is that just another lie you tell yourself that nobody can now confirm or deny? Artist Brain.
I got really into Roy Orbison music during college, I was rooming with the world's largest Beatles fan and he was so highly anticipating new music from George Harrison, and that turned out to be the Traveling Wilburys' first album. Well, sure, it's college, so please tell me more about this Bob Dylan fella and what he's all about, and let's throw Jeff Lynne into the mix because why not. But Orbison turned out to be the surprise ringer, the guy adding something to the songs that we didn't even know they needed. Wait, where do I KNOW this guy from? "Pretty Woman", was that him? I know that song, let me go and buy his whole back catalog on cassette format because maybe there are some hidden gems in there. Wow, this guy's got a voice and he knows about heartbreak, clearly, because he keeps singing about it. And what the heck is an "Ooby Dooby"?
So yeah, I jumped on train a little late, but if I hadn't jumped on at all I might have just regarded Orbison as a bargain-basement Elvis, I mean he had the hair and the sunglasses and a few of those one-piece studded jumpsuits (which I later learned are called "Nudies", even though they do cover everything, they're named after their designer, Nudie Cohn). Roy didn't have the same album sales as Elvis, but he stayed alive and stayed working longer, I guess the flame that burns twice as bright also burns half as long. But I got into Orbison before I got into Elvis - still, two reasons to go and visit Sun Records, there was a lot of history there, and I guess they both jumped ship for bigger labels, but Roy did it first.
The Wilburys were a hit, people kind of forget that was a #1 album, full of star power without the star names for some reason. I guess they wanted to see if they could make good music without people knowing it was them, but come on, we all knew who it was. And then Roy worked on his own album, "Mystery Girl", with the #1 hit "You Got It" and a bunch of the Wilburys worked on the songs here and there, plus Bono was apparently the co-writer of the song "She's a Mystery to Me", he had listened to a bunch of Roy Orbison songs and then fell asleep and dreamed that song, yeah I can see that. He therefore thought it was a Roy Orbison song until he played it for people who could not identify it as such, and after he had the opportunity to play it for Roy, it ended up on Roy's album. It's a process.
Roy died before "Mystery Girl" was released, and shortly after filming the video for "You Got It", and when the Wilburys finally made a video for "Handle With Care", Roy had to be represented by a rocking chair with a guitar in it, which is a damn shame. But he went out on top, with two albums in the top five at the same time, and therefore the first deceased musician since Elvis to accomplish that. And then somehow there was another new album three years later, "King of Hearts" in 1992. I'm not sure if those were all the songs that didn't make it to "Mystery Girl" or what, but in his final days he had enough output for TWO albums, I think he was just so happy to be working again, but also it's important to take breaks and look after your health, even if you're in a very creative period.
Still, I have to regard this particular film about Roy for what it is, a stock-umentary. I suspect that nothing was filmed NEW for this, somebody just assembled a bunch of footage where various music icons mentioned their admiration for Orbison and that all just got Frankensteined together, making something new and technically alive out of dead footage. So while I love the subject matter, it's the format that bothers me, nobody did much (any) research, they just worked with what they had. Sure, there are insights into Roy's complex musical structure, or lack thereof, and those insights come from Bono or Bernie Taupin, but it's still a bunch of old news here, sorry to say. OK, so Bruce Springsteen was surprised how different and radical the song charts were for "Dream Baby", what am I supposed to do with that information?
I really want to go and watch "A Black and White Night Live" now, and maybe I will, but I can't really make that part of the countdown, because I've seen it before and that would be against the rules. Still, I'm at the halfway point of the Doc Block and I think I deserve a little break for some music. It's Summer Concerts time.
Directed by Steve Cole
Also starring Bono (last seen in "Stevie Van Zandt: Disciple"), Elvis Costello (last seen in "The 100th: Billy Joel Live at Madison Square Garden"), Robin Gibb (last seen in "Elton John: Becoming Rocketman"), Olivia Harrison (last seen in "Concert for George"), Jeff Lynne (ditto), Steve Jones, Tony King, Gerry Marsden, Barbara Orbison, Bernie Taupin (last seen in "Elton John: Never Too Late"), Joe Walsh (last seen in "Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary"), Terry Widlake, Bill Wyman (last seen in "Paul Anka: His Way"),
with archive footage of Roy Orbison (last seen in "The Beatles: In the Life"), Jackson Browne (also last seen in "Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary"), Bonnie Raitt (ditto), Johnny Cash (last seen in "Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind"), Bob Dylan (last seen in "Roberta"), George Harrison (last seen in "Cheech & Chong's Last Movie"), Bruce Springsteen (ditto), Dennis Hopper (last seen in "Devo"), k.d. lang (last seen in "Pee-Wee as Himself"), John Lennon (last seen in "Being Eddie"), Ringo Starr (ditto), Kyle MacLachlan (last seen in "Blink Twice"), Paul McCartney (last seen in "Lorne"), Jack Nance (last seen in "Zeroville"), Tom Petty (last seen in "The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts - Springsteen E Street Band"), Cliff Richard (last seen in "If These Walls Could Sing"), Isabella Rossellini (last seen in "Cat Person"), Dean Stockwell (last heard in "Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker"),
RATING: 5 out of 10 members of the TCB Band (including special guests)
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