I’ve really been enjoying the Bruce Springsteen DVD I got for Christmas, which has inspired me to re-watch some of the Rolling Stones DVD I got for my wife’s birthday (Yeah, so I got her something I like too — is that so wrong?). 

As a result, I’ve been thinking about the best music movies. Which, of course, leads to a list:

My top ten:

10.) “Shine a Light.” Of course it’s good — Martin Scorcese directed it and it’s about the Stones. How could you go wrong? But, seriously, the direction, the camera angles — it really presented a concert the way no other movie has.

9.) “U2 3D.” Okay, let me amend that last statement. It presented a concert the way no other movie had — until this one came out a few months later. For this movie, 18 cameras were used to capture the Irish rockers in 3D. I especially liked the shots from the stage, where you felt like you were there, looking into your audience of adoring fans.

8.) “The Last Waltz.” Scorcese again, this time chronicling the Band’s farewell concert. Great interviews and great guests, including Dr. John and Van Morrison.

7.) “The Commitments.” I have to admit, it’s been a while since I’ve seen this one, but the one thing I remember is that I really liked it. The plot is about a group of white Dubliners who try to form a soul band. They have real promise, too — until the egos flare up. The band was led by 16-year-old Andre Strong, who has since gone on to tour with the Stones, Elton John and Prince, among others.

6.) “Yellow Submarine.” I love all the Beatles movies, but the psychedelic art in this one takes the prize.

5.) “Woodstock.” Aside from the great music, this was a well-done documentary that explored interesting angles (i.e., the problems setting up a massive outdoor concert, interviewing the guy who cleaned the portable toilets, etc.) and featured cool camera angles of acts like Hendrix and Santana.

4.) “Gimme Shelter.” Alas, all good things must come to an end, right? Whereas “Woodstock” glamorized the 60s, “Gimme Shelter” — like Charles Manson — showed the downside of the drug culture and the beginning of the end of the hippie movement. Oh, and by the way? It’s not a great idea to have a biker gang handle your security. The Hell’s Angels bullied members of Jefferson Airplane and killed an audience member while the Stones were performing. Unable to see exactly what happened, Mick Jagger says into the mic: “Who’s fighting and what for?”

3.) “That Thing You Do.” Tom Hanks isn’t normally known for writing screenplays — or songs. But he did both for this film, about a fictional band called the Wonders. Here we follow the Wonders as they just about make it but then break up to pursue normal lives.

2.) “This is Spinal Tap.” When I interviewed Jon Anderson from YES, he said this is one of his favorite movies. And many other famous musicians agree. Because so many of them say this funny fictional portrait of a heavy metal band nailed it. Cranking it to eleven entered the lexicon with this Rob Reiner flick about the crazy side of rock and roll, which features the band getting lost backstage and losing drummers.

1.) “Almost Famous.” As a teen, Cameron Crowe was better than most adult journalists who’d been at it for years. He also wound up being a pretty good screnplay writer. Here he chronicles his life on the road with 70s rockers. When I interviewed Greg Allman a while ago, he admitted that he and Allman Brothers bandmate Dickey Betts took Crowe’s interview tapes from him as a joke. (The Allman Brothers were Crowe’s first cover — and one of the bands that inspired the movie.)

“The poor guy’s face got so long,” Allman said. “Of course, the next morning . . . we woke him up again and asked him if he wanted to go have breakfast, and we handed him his stuff back.”

Crowe claims Allman mailed the tapes back to him — as a character does in the movie.

Either way — my favorite music movie.

Runners-up:

* “High Fidelity.” Gotta love Jack Black’s music snob - even if he disses Stevie Wonder.

* “Dream Girls.” Launching the career of Jennifer Hudson, with nice work from Eddie Murphy.

* “Ray.” A great impersonation by Jamie Foxx, who has his own musical chops.

* “Cash.” Yeah, the lead actors look nothing like the real people. But it was still a good portrayal.

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I’ve really been enjoying the Bruce Springsteen DVD I got for Christmas, which has inspired me to re-watch some of the Rolling Stones DVD I got for my wife’s birthday (Yeah, so I got her something I like too — is that so wrong?). 

As a result, I’ve been thinking about the best music movies. Which, of course, leads to a list:

My top ten:

10.) “Shine a Light.” Of course it’s good — Martin Scorcese directed it and it’s about the Stones. How could you go wrong? But, seriously, the direction, the camera angles — it really presented a concert the way no other movie has.

9.) “U2 3D.” Okay, let me amend that last statement. It presented a concert the way no other movie had — until this one came out a few months later. For this movie, 18 cameras were used to capture the Irish rockers in 3D. I especially liked the shots from the stage, where you felt like you were there, looking into your audience of adoring fans.

8.) “The Last Waltz.” Scorcese again, this time chronicling the Band’s farewell concert. Great interviews and great guests, including Dr. John and Van Morrison.

7.) “The Commitments.” I have to admit, it’s been a while since I’ve seen this one, but the one thing I remember is that I really liked it. The plot is about a group of white Dubliners who try to form a soul band. They have real promise, too — until the egos flare up. The band was led by 16-year-old Andre Strong, who has since gone on to tour with the Stones, Elton John and Prince, among others.

6.) “Yellow Submarine.” I love all the Beatles movies, but the psychedelic art in this one takes the prize.

5.) “Woodstock.” Aside from the great music, this was a well-done documentary that explored interesting angles (i.e., the problems setting up a massive outdoor concert, interviewing the guy who cleaned the portable toilets, etc.) and featured cool camera angles of acts like Hendrix and Santana.

4.) “Gimme Shelter.” Alas, all good things must come to an end, right? Whereas “Woodstock” glamorized the 60s, “Gimme Shelter” — like Charles Manson — showed the downside of the drug culture and the beginning of the end of the hippie movement. Oh, and by the way? It’s not a great idea to have a biker gang handle your security. The Hell’s Angels bullied members of Jefferson Airplane and killed an audience member while the Stones were performing. Unable to see exactly what happened, Mick Jagger says into the mic: “Who’s fighting and what for?”

3.) “That Thing You Do.” Tom Hanks isn’t normally known for writing screenplays — or songs. But he did both for this film, about a fictional band called the Wonders. Here we follow the Wonders as they just about make it but then break up to pursue normal lives.

2.) “This is Spinal Tap.” When I interviewed Jon Anderson from YES, he said this is one of his favorite movies. And many other famous musicians agree. Because so many of them say this funny fictional portrait of a heavy metal band nailed it. Cranking it to eleven entered the lexicon with this Rob Reiner flick about the crazy side of rock and roll, which features the band getting lost backstage and losing drummers.

1.) “Almost Famous.” As a teen, Cameron Crowe was better than most adult journalists who’d been at it for years. He also wound up being a pretty good screnplay writer. Here he chronicles his life on the road with 70s rockers. When I interviewed Greg Allman a while ago, he admitted that he and Allman Brothers bandmate Dickey Betts took Crowe’s interview tapes from him as a joke. (The Allman Brothers were Crowe’s first cover — and one of the bands that inspired the movie.)

“The poor guy’s face got so long,” Allman said. “Of course, the next morning . . . we woke him up again and asked him if he wanted to go have breakfast, and we handed him his stuff back.”

Crowe claims Allman mailed the tapes back to him — as a character does in the movie.

Either way — my favorite music movie.

Runners-up:

* “High Fidelity.” Gotta love Jack Black’s music snob - even if he disses Stevie Wonder.

* “Dream Girls.” Launching the career of Jennifer Hudson, with nice work from Eddie Murphy.

* “Ray.” A great impersonation by Jamie Foxx, who has his own musical chops.

* “Cash.” Yeah, the lead actors look nothing like the real people. But it was still a good portrayal.

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So, apparently, my Zune decided to take New Year’s Eve off.

As I started my drive into work Wednesday, I was miffed to discover that my Zune wasn’t booting up. It had the Zune logo on the screen, but it seemed frozen. Stuck.

Perhaps on strike.

Now back in my younger days, I might have banged the Zune around in an attempt to get it to work. I might have even thrown it on the floor. But the older, more mature me was collected and calm. So I merely cussed it out and relegated myself to the radio during my commute.

But then my wife called and said, “Is your Zune working?” Because, apparently, hers was doing the exact same thing. Which was really weird. More probing found that blogs and Internet forums were suddenly filled with Zune owners wondering why their MP3 players weren’t working.

When my wife looked on the Zune web site, she learned that everyone with our kind of Zune — an army of roughly a million — was having problems booting up. Which was also very weird. We were like, “So what — are Zunes somehow controlled by a satellite something or other?”

Well, it turns out that when this particular Zune was programmed, it didn’t take leap years into consideration.  (More technically, their inner clock failed when trying to switch from 2008 — a leap year — to 2009, not a leap year. So it took a nap.)

Some wise guys have called the incident Z2K. And those poor suckers who wanted to use their Zune for New Year’s parties had to resort to — egads — CDs.

Luckily, all a  Zune owner had to do was let the battery run out, wait a day, then recharge and — voila — it was rested and ready for 2009.

In the aftermath, some have taken to printing up Z2K T-shirts and pins. Others have criticized Microsoft, the makers of Zune, which continues to flail behind the iPod in reviews.

Personally, I’m over the the Z2K thing. But I still have questions. Like, why does my Zune always play Hall & Oates when it’s shuffling?

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Follow the “Yellow Brick Road”: Captain Kirk sings “Rocket Man”

I know, I know. “Star Trek” doesn’t hit theaters until May 8, 2009.

That doesn’t stop me from getting giddy about the thought of my favorite space travelers returning to the big screen. Just think! Kirk, Spock, Bones and the gang boldly going where they’ve gone many, many times before!

To tide myself over until May, I’ve turned to the above video, created YouTube poster Chromafly.

Here’s William Shatner’s famous rendition of “Rocket Man” by Elton John, set to clips from the “Star Trek: The Animated Series.” Enjoy.

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Now that the holidays are here, it’s time for me to take part in one of my favorite Christmas traditions: Telling people how much I hate “The Little Drummer Boy.”

Not only is this a boring song, but apparently it’s also a favorite torture soundtrack for serial killers in England, having been used during the infamous Moors Murders of the 1960s.

Okay, maybe that was unfair. But “The Little Drummer Boy” continues to inflict pain every time I hear it.

Since I wrote about some of my favorite Christmas songs last year, this year I’ve decided to write about Christmas songs I hate. And what better place to start than:

10.) “Little Drummer Boy.” Even David Bowie couldn’t make this snoozer cool. It’s not really even a song, is it? It’s just a line, then pa rum pum pum pum, another line, then another pa rum pum pum pum. Maybe the drummer boy should’ve taken up the trumpet.

9.) “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer,” Elmo & Patsy. If Larry the Cable Guy ever puts out a Christmas album, this redneck classic has to be the number one single.

8.) “It Doesn’t Often Snow at Christmas,” Pet Shop Boys. The Pet Shop Boys normally suck, so why should we expect more from them at Christmas?

7.) “All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth,” Spike Jones & His City Slickers. It’s said that Kraig Hohf, a school teacher, wrote this in 30 minutes. And, well — that doesn’t surprise me. Listening to this disaster is like getting your teeth pulled. 

6.) “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas,” Gayla Peevey. Granted, Peevey was just 10 when she sang this song, which wound up being used as a fundraiser to get a hippo to an Oklahoma City Zoo. But in the end the conclusion still remains the same: Novelty songs usually suck.

5.) “All I Want for Christmas is You,” Mariah Carey. All I want for Christmas is for Mariah Carey to go away. Far, far way. The queen of oversing adds melisma to the holidays with a song that doesn’t even reach Target commercial standards.

4.) “O Holy Night,” Whitney Houston. Combining two things I hate: this song and Whitney Houston. It could have been worse — it could have been a duet with Bobby Brown.

3.) Anything by Josh Groban, Manheim Steamroller, or the Trans-siberian Orchestra. When I hear these performers, good will toward man is the last thing that comes to mind.

2.) “Merry Christmas with Love,” Clay Aiken. If it’s a Worst Of music list, you can pretty much guarantee that Clay Aiken will be on it. Gotta love the Casio keyboard here.

1.) “Ave Maria,” various artists. I heard they actually use this in sleep labs across the world. Okay, maybe not. Still, this song always sounded more like a funeral song than a Christmas tune. My suggestion: Add a few sleigh bells.

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Hear local singing sensation Inga Swearingen this weekend

Local music lovers can hear a familiar voice this Saturday on the popular radio show “A Prairie Home Companion.”

Jazz singer Inga Swearingen will perform alongside tenor Raúl Melo and cabaret singer, pianist, and musical anthropologist Michael Feinstein. The show, dedicated to “The Great American Songbook,” will be broadcast live from Town Hall in New York City.

Winner of the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival in 2003, Swearingen is a long-time San Luis Obispo resident, a Cal Poly graduate and a regular guest on NPR’s “Prairie Home Companion.” The show’s Web site describes her as a “singularly soulful jazz vocalist.”

I know “A Prairie Home Companion” is radio — not film or television — but when a Central Coast resident is on the airwaves, I like to brag.

Besides, Robert Altman picked the program as the subject of his final feature film. (Not bad for a little show from Minnesota.)

***

Listen to “A Prairie Home Companion” at 3 p.m. Saturday on KCBX (90.1 FM).

***

Above photo is by the talented Barry Goyette.

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Kyle Eastwood talks about working with his filmmaker dad, Clint Eastwood

Jazz musician Kyle Eastwood has a tough act to follow.

His father, Clint Eastwood, is one of Hollywood’s creative forces. As an actor, he’s made a career out of playing grizzled, squint-eyed men of few words, ranging from Dirty Harry to The Man with No Name. As a director and composer, he’s crafted critically acclaimed dramas and historical epics including Oscar winners “Unforgiven” and “Million Dollar Baby.”

Eastwood’s son, Kyle, has made his own reputation as a jazz bassist and band leader living in Paris. He’s released three albums, including 2006’s “Now” and worked with his dad on films such as “Mystic River,” “Flags of Our Fathers” and “Letters From Iwo Jima.”

Although most people would cringe at the thought of working so closely with their parents, Kyle Eastwood seems to take it in stride.

“He’s pretty easy to work with and we get along really well,” he said recently in a Tribune interview. “I’ve kind of grown up watching him work. I have a pretty good idea of what he likes and what he doesn’t like.”

Kyle Eastwood and Ramblin’ Jack Elliott performed this weekend at Martin & Weyrich Winery in Paso Robles, as part of the Paso Robles Digital Film Festival. (The festival continues through Tuesday.)

I chatted with Kyle about his famous father, his career and films. Here are some interesting tidbits from the interview.

As a kid, you appeared with your father in “The Outlaw Josey Wales,” “Bronco Billy” and Honkytonk Man.” What made you opt for a career behind the scenes?

The acting bug never really bit me too much. I was always interested in being behind the camera. I went to USC for a short stint as a film major but I decided to pursue music (in 1986) and never went back.

I was always interested in music and film. Music was what I loved the most.

Why jazz?

It was what my parents were listening to around the house. I remember going out to the Monterey Jazz Festival, seeing some of the greats perform in the mid- to late ’70s.

I went through phases of looking at a lot of different music (but) … My jazz is my first love.

What kind of jazz do you play?

I’m influenced by all different kinds of music … everything from swing to fusion to funk. Little bits of it all find (their) way into my composing.

How does composing film scores differ from writing your own jazz songs?

It’s a different kind of challenge, writing film music. You have to write something to fit a picture. Sometimes a piece of music can be 10 seconds long or 10 minutes long. You have to have guidelines to go on.

Music is obviously an important aspect of film. There are (film scores) that become as important as one of the characters and there are ones that play a supporting role. If you took it out, you would notice it.

Dramatic films or suspense films are always going to have the need for music that brings tension or emotion to the pictures.

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Well, it’s official — I’m now one degree of separation from Kevin Bacon.

If you haven’t heard of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, the premise is this: Since Bacon has appeared in so many movies, you can connect him to just about anyone through six connections or less. For example:

Bela Lugosi has a Bacon number of 3:

1. Bela Lugosi was in “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein” with Vincent Price

2. Vincent Price was in “The Raven” with Jack Nicholson

3. Jack Nicholson was in “A Few Good Men” with Kevin Bacon

 Badda-bing, badda-boom.

Me?

One. Because I talked to Kevin Bacon last week. And thanks to my interview, which lead to this Ticket story, anyone who knows me can claim 2.

Bacon and his brother Michael proved to be pretty good interviewees. Though Kevin Bacon has undoubetedly done scores of interviews over the years, he didn’t seem bored like some celebrities we talk to.

The Bacon Brothers have a new album, “New Year’s Day,” which they will be promoting when they appear at the Paso Robles Digital Film Festival this weekend.  during our interview, I asked Bacon about a song he wrote called “Too Old For ‘Playboy’,” which was about another planned interview.

“I used to always look at those interviews, though I rarely read them,” he said. “They were kind of cool with black and white photographs. And that, as a kid, was on the list of those dreams you want to accomplish, like sitting next to Ed McMahon on the ‘Tonight Show’ or seeing your name on a marquee. Those things you kind of check off of your dream list. But one was to do this ‘Playboy’ interview. And it finally happened one day. My publicist called, and I was really jazzed about it. It was a few years ago — I think it might have been around the “Mystic River” release. And then they called back and there had been a management change – a new editor – and they decided to go younger with the magazine, and I was out. And I thought, ‘I’m too old for Playboy.’ And I thought, “That’s a good title for the song.”

While his acting ability helps him perform before crowds, singing is still a very different experience, he said.

“From doing theater, I’m used to that idea of stepping out into a live situation where anything can happen,” he said. “But by the same token, playing music, there’s no character between me and the audience. And there is something that’s very vulnerable about saying, ‘Okay, here I have this experience in my life, and I wrote this little song about it. Now I want you to listen to it and clap along.’”

The Bacon family was headed by their father, Edmund Bacon, an urban planner sometimes referred to as The Father of Modern Philadelphia, and their mother, Ruth, a teacher and liberal activist, who wouldn’t allow Michael to play loud instruments.

“She wouldn’t buy me a drum set,” Michael said. “I could take cello lessons, and oboe lessons and banjo lessons. But drums and guitars were not her thing, and she didn’t encourage it at all.”

 At that point in the interview, Kevin chimed in: “She let me get a drum set.”

To which Michael added: “Kev – I worked them over for you, okay?”

While doing research on the brothers, I found this video of Kevin Bacon singing the theme from “Footloose,” which he famously starred in.  

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“Everybody cut, everybody cut footloose!”

Ever wonder what inspired that hit Kenny Loggins tune, “Footloose”?

Turns out it had something to do with Jimmy Buffett, machetes and Malibu rum. At least, that’s what “Yacht Rock,“ the winning Web series about soft rock stars in the 1970s and ’80s, would have us believe.

Created by J. D. Ryznar and Hunter D. Stair, “Yacht Rock” imagines the stories behind some of the era’s biggest hits, featuring fictionalized versions of mega-acts Hall & Oates, Steely Dan, The Doobie Brothers and Michael McDonald.

Episodes are hosted by “Hollywood” Steve Huey, a music critic for the online All Music Guide.

It’s fun and a little freaky, with intentionally poor production values and a deranged cast. If you remember this music — either with nostalgia or puking disdain — you’ll enjoy “Yacht Rock.”

Channel 101 canceled “Yacht Rock” after 10 episodes, but the show came back earlier this year for a sweet special episode about — you guessed it — “Footloose.”

Ryznar and Stair star as McDonald and Loggins alongside Jason Lee of “My Name is Earl” (playing a shaggy-haired Kevin Bacon) in the goofiest explanation for a hit single ever.

***

A note to viewers: Salty language makes the show decidedly not safe-for-work, so wear headphones or check out “Yacht Rock” on your free time.

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Over the years I’ve heard quite a few bands cover the Jimi Hendrix tune “Fire.” 

As you would expect, none of them could capture Hendrix’s blazing guitar playing. At the same time, though, no drummer could match Mitch Mitchell’s frantic percussion, demonstrated in this live version at Woodstock or this version at Royal Albert Hall.

Like Keith Moon from the Who, Mitchell was a wild drummer, who treated the drums as a lead instrument. Known for his fast snare work — “percussive ferocity,” as the U.K. Guardian newspaper called it – anyone who tried to play a Hendrix song like Mitchell would inevitably wind up with sore forearms.

They might not even make it through the entire song without a break.

The former child actor who played drums on “Manic Depression,” “Voodoo Child” and more died yesterday at 61.

As I noted in this blog entry in July, Mitchell was one of my top five favorite drummers. You can imagine how difficult it would be to support a guy like Hendrix. But Mitchell did it with authority.

Picture having a guy who can solo like this playing behind Hendrix, and you get a feel for how great the Jimi Hendrix Experience was. Sadly, no member of that power trio is living. Bassist Noel Redding died of liver disease in 2003, at 57, and Hendrix overdosed at age 27 in 1970.

Mitchell’s career outside the Hendrix Experience was pretty quiet. (He actually auditioned for Paul McCartney’s band Wings in the 70s, but didn’t get the gig.) But recently I re-watched “The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus,” a TV special that never aired, which featured a very short-lived super group called Dirty Mac, featuring Mitchell, John Lennon, Keith Richards and Eric Clapton.

Incidentally, that special was reportedly pulled because Mick Jagger felt the Who had upstaged a road-weary Stones in their own show. It was the last public performance for guitarist Brian Jones, who died in his swimming pool a few months later.

Given the number of rock stars from the 60s who died young, Mitchell, by comparison, lived to be an old man.

 Photo: www.drummerworld.com

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