Girl on the Run and The Runaways

Girl on the Run is a hoot! These movies are so much fun to watch. It's like watching something that came out of a time capsule. Qwerky characters, well tailored clothing, and "hot dames" abound. I remember the hootch show tents at the county fair when I was a kid. The master of ceremonies would trot out these scantily clad women and tease the audience with what they would see in the actual show under the big tent. He must've known what he was doing as long lines would form for the next show. 

A couple of weeks ago, I ran across these pics from Brad Etleman on CNN and I just couldn't stop looking at them. At some point I stumbled onto a blurb about The Runaways movie.  

I tried watching The Runaways movie about a year ago and I didn't last 5 minutes. Boo! I was a Runaways fan growing up; this movie looked like crap. Well, let's see if I can get past the ridiculous opening scene. Ok, silly opening aside, it's an ok movie. There seemed to be a pretty good effort to at least be true to some of the facts. I read in an interview with Brad Etleman, that Kim Fowley used "dog" as an adjective for everything. Cherie Currie's bed spread in one scene looks exactly like the one in one of Brad's pics. 

The movie reminded me of how feral things are when you're sixteen. I made my own t-shirts like Joan and I hid "special" clothes or jewelry to wear outside of the house like Cherie. I couldn't sing, couldn't play an instrument, and I didn't have looks. 

Fritz Lang's Destiny

I saw Fritz Lang's Destiny last night @ the Irving Theater. Eric Greyson ran the projector and gave a brief history before the film and a question and answer session after. The special effects, interesting characters, and stories within a story that occur in vastly different time periods make this film a must see. Seriously, it's worth watching just to see the final tale that involves an ancient Chinese magician.  I feel lucky that I got to see it on 35 mm film with a live piano accompanist in an old theater in the midst of renovation which really helped "set the stage" for this classic. You'll notice more than a few scenes that have clearly been snatched and used by other film makers; Fritz Lang did it first.

Frankenstein and some Skeletons - 'Tis the Season

I remember when Frankenstein hit the Midwest airwaves. I had no idea about the background of the song, however, until now. I also didn't know that Edgar was the first person to strap on keyboard. I love the mini banter session at the beginning of the video between Edgar and Rick Derringer. Goodness, such soft spoken gentlemen. Edgar Winter is so thin and elegantly pale; his hair just shimmers. Man, he can rock the glad rags too.



Ordinarily, a poem set to music is called a song. In this case, it's a poem accompanied by music. Timely piece.

Joseph Szabo

Tom on his car

I am such a sucker for black and white photos, but Joseph Szabo's pics take the cake. He captures what it meant to be a teenager in the late 70's splendidly. No, I wasn't some hot, popular babe by any stretch - uh no. I do, however, remember riding around in a car, listening to music, and trying oh so hard to be what I thought was cool. Thank the godz this was all pre-cell. If you wanted to call someone you had to use a pay phone.

Apparently there is a documentary film of his photos.