Spectrum: Tangerine Dream

 

What caused me to fall in love with the haunting music of Tangerine Dream was a trailer I saw for William Friedkin’s Sorcerer on Spectrum. Now many of you have heard this music used in other trailers for films that the music never appeared in.  "Betrayal" is a standby used by many for years to punctuate the drama of the film they were trying to sell in a trailer. 

Tangerine Dream's music is a synthesizer driven soundscape very similar to what John Carpenter creates for his films, and even more so, his Lost Themes albums. I own several Tangerine Dream albums including the soundtracks for Sorcerer and Thief, and some of their own commercially released LPs. 

Their music is infinitely unique and definitely lends itself to films, to images, to facial expressions,  to the works of many great artists. I mean, even in a film like Miracle Mile which has a different tone than many of the other films that Tangerine Dream's music has graced, the Dream makes it work . Miracle Mile is a soundtrack that I own and adore, but has a magic quite different, yet equally as powerful as their other works.

But I’ll never forget the power in that trailer for Sorcerer on Spectrum. It’s a fantastic film.  I’ve seen it several times to this day.  But Watching that two minute trailer, hearing that haunting music accompanying those images and those facial expressions and not knowing at all what was happening,  I was transfixed before having even seen it.

Sorcerer is a great movie and I highly recommend anyone see it.  Is it horror? No, but yes. Is it action? No, but yes. Is it crime? 

No, but yes.

   

William Friedkin may have made The Exorcist, The French Connection, and  To Live and Die in LA, but the one movie of his that has a cult following, however deserves much more, is indeed Sorcerer, which was based on Arnaud’s book The Wages of Fear . 

If it wasn’t for Spectrum, I may have never discovered this film, Tangerine Dream, or the depths of Billy Friedkin . 

Baseball Cards and Funny Names

 

I know I've written about baseball cards on here before, as well as baseball itself.   But have I written about the silly-ass kid mentality involved ? 

Probably Not. 

One of the joys of collecting baseball cards as an adolescent, and looking at or trading them with your friends is laughing at some of the players names.  Sometimes, you're just aghast at them.  What about guys like the late Biff Pocoroba?  How about legendary Bill Naharodony?  Buddy Biancalana anyone?  Maybe, just maybe, you're a fan of Kurt Bevacqua (who Tommy Lasorda once said "couldn't hit water if he fell out of a fuckin' boat") and his Bazooka world record gum bubble, and accompanying card?

One of my friends in the sixth grade and I often got a chuckle at just what the name looked like.  He referred to a California Angels pitcher as Don "Ass".  Yes, it was spelled "Aase", (and pronounced Ah-Say) but giant blasts of laughter would explode from both of us if one of us uttered "What do you want to trade me for my 1979 Don Ass?"  Your eyes viewed the name, your brain processed it, and your mouth pronounced: "Ass". 

Children.

Of course even adults will do this.  I occasionally watch videos from the online baseball card chap with the moniker "Junk Wax Sal" who records himself opening packs.  He has come across a late 80's card of the Mr. Aase, and also referred to him as "Don Ass".   Sal's a grown-ass man.   I guess the shit will always be funny, if you're at least partly a child at heart. 

Junk Wax Sal

Of course when it comes to baseball players with unfortunate names, there's a legendary pairing.  Dick Pole and Peter LaCock.  I am in no way, shape, or form making those names up.  And if you need evidence try this out from the always great Josh Wilker:  Cardboard Gods

I've written that baseball and humor go together like chocolate and peanut butter.  It's borderline perfection, like they were almost made for one another.   So, why should it be any different that baseball cards are often funny? There's snafus of course, like the 1979 Topps card of Bump (Bump?  Gales of laughter were emitted up into the atmosphere from youngsters that were visible from satellites at that name) Wills in his full Rangers regalia on a card designated for a player for the Blue Jays. 

In reality, errors exist all over the card world and have for decades.  But what about shit that happens in camera?  Like "Fuck Face" being written on the knob of Billy Ripken's bat as he poses for his card not knowing it's there.  Or Bob Uecker batting left handed in his 1965 Topps card, though he was a pure right handed batsmen?  Leave it to Bob to pull the wool over the eyes of the Topps Chewing Gum company.

Reasons to laugh can boil down to many things, whether it's a stupid looking face, a guy with a monstrosity of a last name, (or one that evokes naughty words), or goofy errors in the printing or photography process, (I'm sure to this day that Aurelio Rodriguez is thrilled that his 1969 Topps Card is actually the Angels bat boy).  Because of all of this, I can always look back at those days, remember my own laughter and that of my friends, and smile. 

Musical Thoughts: “I like the old stuff”

A lot of people utter the phrase “I like their old stuff”, particularly when it comes to actors, directors, and authors. 

But, boy does it come into play with musicians and bands. 

For instance, in my opinion, Aerosmith was better before their 1980 break up.  The Stones reached their peak with Sticky Fingers. Glass Houses was Billy Joel’s epoch. 

But the peak of all this discussion to me is AC/DC.  Their best stuff hands down was the Bon Scott era. Powerage, Let There Be Rock, and Highway to Hell are amongst the greatest hard rock albums ever.

But with that, comes a bit of a mystery.  I fell in love with AC/DC at the age of 9 with Back in Black . This, of course was their first record after Bon died, sadly from alcohol induced aspiration in January of 1980. 

Bon was a legendary gutter poet. It’s true many of their songs were about sex, booze, and Rock and Roll, but Bon had a way with double entendres and turns of phrase that made the lyricism smarter than it’s topics.  Unlike the post-Back in Black material however, Bon could venture into territory that stretched a bit.  What’s Next to the Moon, Down Payment Blues, Overdose, and If You Want Blood were songs about the human condition and even ventured into political or somewhat romantic territory. 

This is where my question lies.  Back in Black's lyrics were gutter poetry at its finest.  And Bon’s replacement, Brian Johnson, never wrote lyrics like the ones that appeared on that album ever again.  Despite the bands insistence that Brian wrote all the lyrics, did he then only have one album in him?  

What about the episode of VH-1’s Behind the Music where Malcom Young stated that the music was set and the rest of the band were “ready for bon” just before he passed away?  I don’t know that I believe the songs were complete without the lyrics and even some of the vocals being demo-ed.  Historically, I don’t know that the band worked that way. 

We will never really know, but when I listen to You Shook Me All Night Long, Have a Drink On Me, and Rock and Roll aint Noise Pollution,  I have my doubts about the author of Back in Black's lyrics. Especially knowing that What Do You Do For Money Honey had been written as far back as Powerage. 

It’s all a mystery, and will remain so.  It’s been said Bon played drums on some of Back in Black's demos, and past interviews stated Bon contributed “a little bit” lyrically. 

Who knows?  

If you read The Last Highway by Jesse Fink, I think you’ll be further convinced.