HBO's Vinyl...Underwhelming

When I first read that HBO was going to be running a series entitled "Vinyl" which would be about the music scene in NYC during the 70's, and executive produced by Mick Jagger and Martin Scorsese, I was thrilled as I'm a huge Stones and Scorsese fan. Marty has always been one of my favorite directors, running a close second to Billy Wilder. Except for "Hugo," I've seen every one of Scorsese's films with my favorites being "Mean Streets," "Taxi Driver," "Raging Bull," "King of Comedy," "Casino," "Goodfellas," and "The Last Temptation of Christ". Besides his directorial skills, one of the things I love about Scorsese is his ear and the music he employs in most of his films. And although Keith is my "favorite" Stone, Jagger is no slouch so I immediately assumed a Scorsese/Jagger collaboration would be a win-win. Well, after watching the first four episodes of "Vinyl" to say I am underwhelmed would be an understatement.

Having lived in New York during that time period the music that emerged became the soundtrack to my life. Based on the promos I had seen for "Vinyl" highlighting the New York Dolls, I expected the series to be about the forerunners to what would eventually be termed "punk rock." The main band in "Vinyl" is called The Nasty Bits and is led by Mick Jagger's son. Some say he's based on Richard Hell, but I don't see it. They are so bland I can't imagine what punk group they're based on, but I know I never would have bought one of their albums.

Bobby Cannavale, who I liked in "Boardwalk Empire" plays a coked-out record executive of a dying label in search of new sounds. In the pilot episode he attends a performance of the New York Dolls playing the Mercer Arts Center which collapses during their show. Although the Center did collapse in 1973 and the Dolls had played there, it did not happen during a Dolls performance. That really annoyed me. And therein lies the danger of combining fact with fiction. From then on I'm questioning everything I'm watching...Did this really happen or is it made up? Who is this band supposed to be? What record label is this? Until the fourth episode when I asked, "Why am I watching this over-produced crap?"

I came up with more reasons why I shouldn't be watching it rather than why I continue to watch it. Other than a couple of songs from The New York Dolls and Velvet Underground, the music soundtrack is less than stellar. Marty, where's that silver ear? Whoever casted this series should be fired. Thus far, all the entertainers have been miscast with one of the worst being Robert Plant. How hard is it to find a hot looking long-haired Englishman with a hairy chest exposed? The acting of many of the principal players borders on the absurd. When Cannavale snorts lines of coke it's like a caricature of what one would think a coke head is. Back in the day I've seen my share of snorters and never have I seen anyone react to the drug like that. Ray Romano is surprisingly good as another executive, as is Bo Dietl, and I loved Andrew Dice's over-the-top performance. *SPOILER ALERT* Unfortunately, he was killed off too soon.

The lighting is so horribly wrong -- too many colored gels have been used -- it makes it look like a show shot on a Hollywood set rather than on location in New York City. New York City in the 70's was a gritty, dangerous, yet musically exciting time and place. This series captures none of that. It just feels fake, fake, fake.

After four episodes, I'm beginning to think Scorsese should stick to gangster films and Jagger to Stones music. Yet, I'm still watching it. Why? I don't know. Maybe I'm waiting for an episode that doesn't make me scratch my head or say, "Please kill me." Fans of the series will be happy to hear HBO has renewed it for another season. Wonder how they're gonna fuck up from 1974 on...

Saturday Scores

Today was the second year I've been to the Roanoke Civic Center's holiday flea market. Both times I've been pretty lucky. There were a couple of items that I told myself to be on the lookout for, and I actually found two.

The first one is what my daughter considers the ultimate Christmas movie, Elf.

I don't know why we didn't already have a dvd of this movie...ummm, maybe because it's on as much as "A Christmas Story" is. The girl was quite happy with this $2 find. The second was a woodworking tool. I don't know what it is, but it looks old and has something to do with wood, so I figure my husband would like it, so I bought it for $5. But the best finds were musical ones.

I found the original 45's of Elvis Presley's "Blue Suede Shoes/Tutti Frutti" and "Guitar Man/Faded Love" for $3!

For another $3 I bought these LP's-- First is a signed copy of "20 Bluegrass Originals Instrumentals."

I happen to like bluegrass, but am not familiar enough with any names or titles. I liked the sound of the titles including "Foggy Mountain Breakdown," "Kentucky Shuck," and "Train 45." Although I wasn't familiar with the '83 signature, when I Googled Bill Monroe I found out he is known as the Father of Bluegrass.

"Monroe was an American musician who created the style of music known as bluegrass, which takes its name from his band, the "Blue Grass Boys," named for Monroe's home state of Kentucky." Score!

Next was a Lawrence Welk LP, "Winchester Cathedral."

If you read Fractured Facade, you may remember the mention of my grandfather (my father's father) belting out this song. This was purely a memory purchase. The last LP, "The Best of Christmas" was also a memory purchase of the times spent at my grandmother's (my mother's mother) apartment every Christmas Eve with my cousins.

Check out some of the songs and singers --
"Do You Hear What I Hear?" - Bing Crosby
"Late in December" - Jackie Gleason
"I Like a Sleighride" - Peggy Lee
"The Christmas Song" - Nat King Cole
"Silent Night, Holy Night" - Wayne Newton
"The Wassail Song" - Tennessee Ernie Ford
"God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" - Ella Fitzgerald
"Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" - Dean Martin
"O Holy Night" - The Lettermen
"Little Drummer Boy" - Marlene Dietrich
and many others. A double LP for a buck. Can't wait to transfer it to CD. Score!

Other finds included this 1934 framed cover of "Open Road for Boys" illustrated by Raymond Lufkin.

The cover appealed to me for two reasons -- the words Sentimental Cyclone on the bottom right. Just like the way it reads and rolls off the tongue, and figure one day I'll use those two words in a story, or as a title. This was $1 too.

The last find from the fleabag was this New York World's Fair Unisphere ash tray.

I was at that World's Fair and figured paying a quarter for the memory was well worth it. My wrists started to ache from the plastic bags cutting off the circulation. I had to have all bags on one arm as the other arm carried a $2 cork board that I really needed for the story I'm working on. Going old-school, by using hand-written colored index cards that I could easily manipulate for my scenes. Anyway, it was not heavy, but it was awkward, so I decided to head on home.

But first, hunger called, so I decided to stop downtown and check out that New York deli that opened up. I really wanted a knish, but they didn't have any left. I was glad to see their cold cuts were all Boar's Head, but I really wasn't in the mood for a sandwich so was going to pass and then I saw this:

I lived on these cookies in high school. They were a quarter for a pack of three. I paid $1 and hoped they tasted like I remembered. They did. I also bought this:

I will let you know if it tastes like a real New York one, but I don't have high hopes as all the black & whites I ever bought were from bakeries, and not plastic packages. But, I'll give it a shot and if it does, then today was truly a major score Saturday.