DEPERATE GENERATION : A CLASSIC DOCUMENTARY FILM ABOUT 1990's ROCKABILY CULTURE AND CARS

This documentary film by Emily Dutton is about a Rock-a- Billy revival in Southern Claifornia during the 1990's, a sub-culture surrounding classic car clubs. It's about STYLE, as interpreted 40 years after the Rock-a-Billy era, as expressed in hair ("greasers"), clothing, interior design, and body art - tatoos. It's about hot rod events, musicians - stand up base! - and a then-younger generation of the handsome and the beautiful. 

Watching it, I thought the artists that Wes has talked to me about over the years, including Elvis Presley, and their roots in Rock-a-Billy!  My sense is that the not-famous stars of this DVD also found retro values of comfort to them and that they played out those values in their friendships.

Christine Trzyna

WIRED FOR SOUND A GUITAR ODYSSY : THE AMAZING STORY OF THE GUITAR : DVD/FILM REVIEW

WIRED FOR SOUND A GUITAR ODYSSY, subtitled THE AMAZING STORY OF THE GUITAR, features some of the "Guitar Gods" of the 20th/ 21st century: Scotty Moore of Elvis Presley's Blue Moon Boys, Chet Atkins, Les Paul, Hank Williams Jr., not to mention Rock and Roll performers like Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones and Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins... 

They talk about the guitar as an instrument itself, and there is plenty of historical film footage and interviews in this one!  There's a visit to Orville H. Gibson's work shop... and well, this is like a biography of the instrument itself. 

What we learned?

Americans coming through Liverpool brought American records and American guitars which were sold in the stores, some so precious that they were kept behind glass.

The DVD/film is C 2000 Cottonport Holdings Nashville.

ROCK AND ROLL AT FIFTY : LIVE FROM BENEDUM CENTER - PITTSBURGH PA

Creator and Executive Producer T.J. Lubinsky  Producer  Henry J. DeLuca and many others, this DVD features live performances recorded during the 2003 show.  Lots of fun and you'll be tempted to sing along to a few songs while a few tears collect in the corners of your eyes, like mine did when I heard Gerry Marsden...

www.shoutfactory.com

Jerry Lee Lewis, Bo Diddley, The Heartbeats, Terry Johnson's Flamingos, the Fiestas, Jack Scott and The Jourdanaires, Paul and Paula, Johnny Tillotson , Darlene Love, Brian Hyland,  Garyu U.S. Bonds,  Lesley Gore, The Manfreds, Gerry Marsden *(Don't let the Sun Catch you Crying), Avalones, Jaguars,  Danny and the Juniors featuring Joe Terry...  You could say it's our kind of show.

Christine

DOO WOP : MY MUSIC CONCERT : A TERRIFIC CONCERT ON FILM

"Before Rock N Roll...Before R n B... there was Doo Wop."

This is the DVD made from the PBS special.  It features some archival film along with contemporary performance recorded at the Sands Casino and Hotel in Atlantic City New Jersey in 2005.  Created by T.J. Lubinsky, the DVD includes Jimmy Beaumont and the Skyliners (Since I Don't Have You!),  Herb Reed's Platters, The Duprees, The Cleftones,  Johnny Maestro and the Brooklyn Bridge, The Moonglows, the Bobbettes, and several other vocal groups that are keeping the Doo Wop music alive.

Excellent production, it was terrific to see, and most of these singers are still in great voice...

KEVIN SPACEY : KATE BOSWORTH : BEYOND THE SEA

Christine here. As some of you know, these last few months I've been trying to catch up on old movies I've never seen before. So I got BEYOND THE SEA, the movie about Bobby Darin's life that came out a few years ago in 1994. I was so impressed! The movie didn't feel at all dated either. Kevin Spacey, who I learned had acquired the film rights along with Bobby's son Darin, and who also starred as Bobby (doing his own singing) as well as cowriting, coproducing, and directing, turned into Bobby Darin. But more than that, flashbacks and fantasy sequences were used to reveal what was going on in Bobby on the inside, the side that most entertainers hide.

Kate Bosworth as Sandra Dee had the vulnerability of the child star who was growing into a woman in front of the camera. The mothers were something else! The personal scandle Bobby comes to terms with is the news that his "sister" is really his mother and she doesn't know who his father is. It was a stunning, humbling, event, which Bobby came to terms with, along with finding his more serious side, a side that cared about the way the world was turning.

In short, I loved this film!

So if you, instead of me, haven't seen it yet... do!

Linking to the IMDb site on BEYOND THE SEA!