#John McDermott

[pulpsandcomics2]

John McDermott

[greensparty]

Album Review and Movie Review: Jimi Hendrix "Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision"

Guess what? There's a new Jimi Hendrix release! Since beginning this blog, I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing loads of Hendrix albums including the posthumous album Both Sides of the Sky, the 50th anniversary Deluxe Edition of Electric Ladyland, the 50th anniversary re-release of his live album Band of Gypsys, his live box set Songs for Groovy Children: The Fillmore East Concerts, the live album and movie Live in Maui, 2021’s Record Store Day release Paris ‘67, 2022’s Los Angeles Forum: April 26, 1969 and last year's Hollywood Bowl: August 18, 1967. There's a Mad Magazine joke that Hendrix released only 3 studio albums in his lifetime and there's been over 360 since he died. That's highly exaggerated, but the joke is that there's been a ton of releases since he died in 1970. This week sees the deluxe box set release Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision from Legacy Recordings. Included in it is the documentary film of the same name.

Deluxe Box Set review

box set

Hendrix's big legacy beyond his music and his influence could be Electric Lady Studios in NYC. He commissioned the recording studio which opened in August 1970. This box set is made up of 39 tracks recorded between June and August 1970 by the new Jimi Hendrix Experience of Billy Cox on bass and Mitch Mitchell on drums. Sadly Hendrix died on September 18, 1970 and never got to see the legendary studio it went on to become. So these recordings represent him performing in his dream studio. Much of the recordings are alt versions, early takes and different mixes. But there are some previously unreleased gems in here like "Further Up the Road" (to clarify a previously unreleased version).

Bottom line: the music here is fantastic and this album is probably better than the vast majority of albums released this decade. But I think it's to the point now where I just want a little more. Instead of different mixes, unearthed live, and newly released demos, I am now hoping we'll someday get an unearthed recording that is music never released before and it wow's us all because it's new and it's amazing. That is my desire with new Hendrix releases, but the reality is we're getting what little was left and in many of those cases it's songs we have heard before. The music itself is great and it's made all the more special by the fact that it was recorded just before he died. But I hope for not just previously unreleased but previously unheard.

3.5 out of 5 stars

Blu-ray documentary review

movie poster

Last month there were a number of screenings at indie cinemas across the country of the documentary Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision directed by John McDermott, who directed the Grammy-nominated Live In Maui. The focus in this doc is the trajectory of the recording studio itself, going from an abandoned nightclub into a state of the art recording studio. It shows Hendrix's vision and desire for his own recording studio and they talk to many of the key players involved with the studio. Interviewees include recording engineer Eddie Kramer, Billy Cox, and Steve Winwood. There's a ton of archival footage interspersed as well.

me in front of Electric Lady Studios in 2019

Bottom line: I went into this doc with a real enthusiasm because as I was getting into music as a teen visiting NYC with my Dad, I used to love going to the West Village and shop at stores like It's Only Rock And Roll, Revolver Records or The Postermat. Right there on West 8th Street is the studio. One time I went to the studio in the hopes I might be able to get a tour, but on the speaker at the front door someone said they don't do tours, it was by appointment only. I think this doc was interesting, but it focused primarily on Hendrix's vision for it. I think there could've been a more comprehensive doc if they had shown how the studio has lasted and is still there today. So many classic albums from Stevie Wonder, Kiss, Led Zeppelin, John Lennon, David Bowie, AC/DC, The Clash, Weezer, U2, Lana Del Rey, Beyonce and even last year's Rolling Stones' album Hackney Diamonds (my #1 Album of 2023) have been recorded there. At 90 min. I felt like it could've been a little longer and gotten further musician insight. It was good, but only scratched the surface!

3 out of 5 stars

For info on Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision

[accordingtojefferson]

Jefferson, listening to a woman sing “Sonny’s Dream”:

Sonny, don't go away, I am here all alone

And your daddy's a sailor who never comes home

… “then why did you marry him?!?!”

[gameraboy2]

Soldiers and Skeleton by John R. McDermott

[nerds-yearbook]

The last episode of the original run of Quantum Leap aired on May 5, 1993. Almost everyone in the episode appeared in previous episodes or reference previously mentioned characters. In theory, Sam lept into himself in August 8, 1953 in a mining town, but it appeared he had actually lept into some kind of limbo possibly meeting God. It was implied that Sam was the one controlling his leaps. Sam went on to alter Al's life. A title card at the end revealed that Sam never returned home again. ("Mirror Image", Quantum Leap, TV Event)

[knowyourbmovieactors]

OCTOBER HORROR MOVIES 2024 (DVD EDITION) #28 THE OMEN (2006)

Oh my god, it's ANOTHER 2000s remake of an old horror film. This time, the ritual sacrifice on the slab is Richard Donner's classic 1976 film, The Omen. Let's dive in...

You can call this new version a "remake" in the most literal definition of that word, because it literally remakes everything that the original already did. It hews so closely to Donner's version that the ostensible screenwriter, Dan McDermott, had his writing credit stricken by the WGA. Instead, David Seltzer, the writer of the '76 film, was ultimately given credit. Every character, every scene, practically every THING in this remake is almost exactly as it was in the original, only updated to take place in the 2000s instead of the '70s. It's not as egregious as Gus van Sant's nearly shot-for-shot remake of Psycho, but it's treading in that territory.

There's some top-tier talent on the screen--Liev Schreiber, Julia Stiles, David Thewlis, Pete Postlethwaite, Michael Gambon, Mia Farrow; they're all doing their best--but to what end? The film has no aspirations beyond what the original film already did, and it barely accomplishes those. Director John Moore's previous movie, Flight of the Phoenix, was also a remake, and it bombed hard at the box office. Why anyone would look at that and say, "Yeah, let's put that guy on another remake," is beyond me. There's a deeply cynical part of me that thinks this entire project was greenlit because the producers thought it would be a great publicity stunt to release an "Omen" remake on June 6, 2006 (or "6-6-06" as all the marketing materials trumpet).

And it did work as a publicity stunt. This version of The Omen did eke out a profit; but, again, to what end? Whenever anybody hears the name "Damien", they're still going to hear it being said in Gregory Peck's voice from 1976. The only legacy this remake will have is as a cheap "gotcha" question in a trivia contest.

THINGS I LEARNED FROM THE DVD EXTRAS -John Moore: "You're going to ask me why I wanted to do this film, and I haven't even been able to answer that for myself. But I have to come up with a salable answer."

-Dan McDermott (whose name and title are blurred out on the screen): "You spend a lot of time alone in a room with a laptop trying to bring to life the ideas and the vision that you have. You spend six to eight months of your life alone with a laptop, and it's such a thrill to be here and watch it happen."

-Liev Schreiber: "When I got the call, my first thought was, 'Oh shit. Another remake.'"

[letterboxd-loggd]

He Who Gets Slapped (1924) Victor Sjöström

August 24th 2024

[pulpsandcomics2]

John McDermott

[channeledhistory]

[nervoussystemmusicreverence]

Marc Cohn - Ghost train

Music

Music Video

Artist

Marc Cohn

Composer

Marc Cohn

Lyricist

Marc Cohn

Produced

Marc Cohn Ben Wisch

Credit

Marc Cohn – Lead vocals, electric piano, backing vocals John Leventhal – Guitars, bass, six-string bass, Drum programming, shaker Kenny White – Backing vocals Dennis McDermott – Drums Bashiri Johnson – Percussion Frank Floyd – Backing vocals Milt Grayson – Backing vocals Frank Simms – Backing vocals

Released

February 12 1991

Streaming

[one4theoverlypassionate]

I love actors from countries with small film and tv industries because youre like "yes I recognise you from this low budget drama, this crime show, this comedy and this surprisingly famous award winning film." canadian actors are also great because they're all legally required to be in cw shows and horror films that were only shot in canada for tax purposes

[fourorfivemovements]

Films Watched in 2023:

38. He Who Gets Slapped (1924) - Dir.  Victor Sjöström

[perfettamentechic]

5 gennaio … ricordiamo …

5 gennaio … ricordiamo … #semprevivineiricordi #nomidaricordare #personaggiimportanti #perfettamentechic

2023: Earl Boen, attore e doppiatore statunitense. Sposò l’attrice Carole Kean. (n.1941) 2022: Kim Mi-soo, attrice e modella sudcoreana, star della serie Disney+ “Snowdrop”. (n.1992) 2021: John Richardson, attore britannico, maggiormente attivo nel cinema italiano. Fu sposato con l’attrice giamaicana Martine Beswick. (n. 1934) 2018: Marina Ripa di Meana, Maria Elide Punturieri, detta Marina,…

[downthetubes]

Crowdfunding Spotlight: Multiverse of Mystery – Holmes & Watson in every universe, every incarnation, all at once!

The International Association of Media Tie-In Writers, who know a thing or two about adaptations, is currently seeking support on Kickstarter for a Sherlock Holmes short story project, Multiverse of Mystery

The International Association of Media Tie-In Writers, who know a thing or two about adaptations, is currently seeking support on Kickstarter for a Sherlock Holmes short story project, Multiverse of Mystery. While this project is text fiction, do check out the list of creators involved, some of whom I’ve worked with recently during my editorship of Star Trek Explorer, such as Keith R.A.…

[letterboxd-loggd]

Devil Girl from Mars (1954) David MacDonald

February 3rd 2024

[dduane]

I'm so glad this is out now! (And I'm so pleased to be in it!)

The multiverse opens the mind to infinite possibilities. But some things remain immortal, including the legend of Sherlock Holmes of Dr. John Watson. These characters made such an indelible impression on the world's consciousness that they have been imitated in countless ways ever since Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created them. Now, members of the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers, who know a thing or two about adaptations, are taking the Holmes and Watson template a step further by offering you stories about Holmes and Watson throughout the multiverse. Our writers have placed the archetypal detectives into new genres, alien worlds, and historical time periods that may or may not exist. We go from medieval India to the far reaches of space, from 12th-century manhunters to gender-swapped consulting detectives. The all-new stories are brought to you by a stellar array of writers: Aaron Rosenberg, Ammar Habib, Ben H. Rome, Bryan Young, David McDonald, Dayton Ward, David Avallone, Diane Duane, Gini Koch & Anita Ensal, Jennifer Brody, Jennifer Brozek, John Peel, Keith R.A., DeCandido, Lorraine J. Anderson, Marsheila Rockwell, Neil Kleid, Scott Pearson, Steven Philip Jones Teel James Glenn, and Will McDermott. The anthology is curated by veteran tie-in authors Carrie Harris (Marvel, Miraculous Ladybug) and Robert Greenberger (Star Trek, Thrilling Adventure Yarns).

It's at Amazon... and at B&N.