by Bill Edwards
Artwork of the Day: Lust On The Yacht (by Bill Edwards)
Monthly Archives: September 2018
Music Video of the Day: Miami Vice Theme by Jan Hammer (1985, directed by ????)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RWdEj5tdpk
Since yesterday’s music video of the day was Crockett’s Theme, it seems only appropriate that today’s music video should be for the Miami Vice Theme.
Brandon Tartikoff revolutionized television when he requested a television show about “MTV cops.” Of course, before Crockett and Tubbs could take on the Miami underworld, they needed a soundtrack that was appropriate for their pastel-and-guns lifestyle. That’s where Jan Hammer and the show’s main instrumental theme came in. When you hear that music, you know it’s all about to go down.
When Miami Vice premiered on NBC in 1984, it was an immediate hit that spawned a successful soundtrack album. As soon as the Miami Vice Theme was released as a single in August of 1985, it shot to the top of the charts. The song’s popularity kept the Miami Vice soundtrack at the top of the album charts for 11 weeks, a record that would stand until 2006, when it was broken by the High School Musical soundtrack.
The video is mostly made up of footage from the show and Jan Hammer performing but it wins some points for being edited to make it appear as if Crockett and Tubbs are attempting to arrest Hammer. Just like the show itself, this video is pure 80s, complete with a close-up of a giant floppy desk and plenty of synthesizer action.
When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Go To Africa : Mike Freiheit’s “Monkey Chef”
We’ve all been there — dead-end job, dead-end love life, dead-end existence. In his previous autobiographical minis, Chicago-based cartoonist Mike Freiheit has dwelt on these issues in exacting (and often hilarious) detail, but in his longest work to date, the impressive and ambitious graphic novel (parts of which were also previously issued as self-published mins) Monkey Chef, we learn what he did when he hit the proverbial wall after too many years in New York — and let’s just say that the “escape route” he chose was an unconventional one in the extreme, one that makes for fascinating memoir material.
In short : he takes on a gig as a cook at a primate sanctuary in South Africa, where he prepares and serves up food for both the “residents” (monkeys) and staff (people, not that you needed me to tell you that). The stage is all set for a…
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Nothin’ Dirty Goin’ On: THE CHEYENNE SOCIAL CLUB (National General 1970)
THE CHEYENNE SOCIAL CLUB isn’t a great movie, but it’s not a bad one, either. It couldn’t be; not with all that talent in front of and behind the cameras. You’ve got two legendary leads, James Stewart and Henry Fonda , Oscar winner Shirley Jones, Gene Kelly in the director’s chair, and John Wayne’s favorite cinematographer William Clothier . Still, the film, while amusing, should’ve been so much better.
The story’s fairy simple: two old Texas cowhands, John O’Hanlon (Stewart) and Harley Sullivan (Fonda) are plying their trade when John receives a letter. Seems John’s brother has died and left him an inheritance – The Cheyenne Social Club in Cheyenne, Wyoming. John and his old pal head north, and it turns out The Cheyenne Social Club is a cathouse, run by Madame Jenny (Jones), and she and the girls warmly greet the perplexed duo. Uptight John, who’s always wanted to…
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Artwork of the Day: My Enemy, My Wife (by Mike Ludlow)
by Mike Ludlow
Music Video of the Day: Crockett’s Theme by Jan Hammer (1987, directed by ????)
Crockett’s Theme was originally written for the hit NBC series, Miami Vice. As evidenced by the title, it was the theme music for everyone’s favorite cop without socks, Sonny Crockett. The song was released on both the second Miami Vice soundtrack and Jan Hammer’s 1987 album, Escape From Television.
The video has nothing to do with Miami Vice. Instead, it is about a man who cannot choose between his woman and his kaleidoscope. The woman eventually makes the decision for him, not only breaking his kaleidoscope but leaving him. Luckily, Jan Hammer is in the next room, playing a keytar.
Crockett’s Theme was not a hit in the United States but found greater success in Europe. It reached number two in Ireland. More recently, it can be heard on Emotion 98.3 in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, which was itself heavily influenced by Miami Vice.
Tearing up Vice City while rocking out to Jan Hammer
A Few Words About Gary Kurtz
The name Gary Kurtz isn’t well known except among STAR WARS fans. Along with his partner George Lucas, Kurtz produced the first two films in the original trilogy, and had a lot to do with the franchise’s early success. Gary Kurtz passed away yesterday at age 78 of cancer, and as I looked back on his filmography, I found he was much more than just the “Star Wars” guy.
Monte Hellman’s “Ride in the Whirlwind” (1965)
Gary Kurtz, like many young tyros back in the 1960’s, was a graduate of what’s known as the Roger Corman School of Filmmaking. Getting his start as an assistant director on Monte Hellman’s 1965 Western RIDE IN THE WHIRLWIND, cowritten by and co-starring another Corman alum, Jack Nicholson , Kurtz worked in various capacities on such Corman-related films as VOYAGE TO THE PLANET OF PREHISTORIC WOMEN (production manager), BEACH BALL (camera operator, assistant director…
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Artist Profile: H.R. Van Dongen (1920 — 2010)
Get ready for an alien invasion with these covers from artist H.R. Van Dongen. Born in New York and trained in commercial art at the Mechanics Institute, Van Dongen served in the U.S. Air Force during World War II and spent eleven months in a German POW camp. After being liberated in 1945, Van Dongen returned to the United States and launched a prolific career as an illustrator. Though he did covers for all genres, Van Dongen is best remembered for his science fiction covers. Here are just a few of them:
Artwork of the Day: Love Sailor (by Hans Helweg)
by Hans Helweg
Music Video of the Day: Our House by Madness (1982, directed by Dave Robinson)
There are many houses featured in the music video for Madness’s Our House. While the song is about the day-to-day life of the British working class, the video still offers up glimpses of the Playboy Mansion and Buckingham Palace. However, most of the video was filmed at a terrace house in northwest London.
This song is often mistakenly referred to as being a one-hit wonder. While it may be the band’s best-known and most popular song in the United States, it’s just one of the many hits that Madness had in the UK. First formed in 1976 and still together (though they did temporarily break-up for 6 years, from 1986 to 1992), Madness has had 15 singles reach the UK top ten, one UK number one single, and two numbers ones in Ireland. Over the course of the 80s, Madness spent a record 214 weeks on the UK singles charts.
This video was directed by David Robinson, who directed several other videos for Madness. He also directed videos for Robert Plant, The Belle Stars, Robert Palmer, and Tracey Ullman.
Through the Shattered Lens 