Tag Archives: music

Crime/Heist

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My creative writing class had to do a 300 word short story in the genre of crime/heist. Here is my story.

What am I doing?

The day was a blur.  How did Reggie talk me into this? I constantly let him talk me into things that I know are stupid ideas?  There was that time we jumped off the cliff together.  We snitched his father’s car and went for a midnight joy ride.  Oh, and that day we messed with that rattlesnake. However, none of those days compared to this.

“Shut up! Do what I say!  Gimme the money!

All Reggie asked me to do was keep watch.  I didn’t know what he meant, but he’s my best friend, and I always do what he asks.  Fool.  I had no idea he intended to rob Friedrickson’s Deli in the middle of the lunch rush.

Worse yet, Reggie was waving around a handgun.  

I should’ve seen this coming.  Reggie has been more defiant since his father ran off.  I knew it was just a matter of time before he exploded.

WHAM

The resounding pistol-whip blow to the head of Friedrickson sent him spiraling toward the ground.  Reggie stood above him displaying a testosterone-fueled rage I have never seen.  I was never more scared of Reggie.

Distantly, the sound of sirens could be heard; the flash of the red and blue filled my eyes.  Reggie knew the situation before I could even get the words out of my mouth.

“The cops!” he shouted, kicking Friedrickson’s ribs.  “What did you do?’

His tone smacked of a strange blend of desperation and acceptance.  

“They’re not taking us alive!”

 Us? Reggie screamed with a sense of unity that I didn’t share.  Reggie shoved me toward the door, brandishing his handgun like a wildman.  Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion; the explosion of Reggie’s bullets rang through the sky.  Oh….no…the police.

BANG BANG BANG!

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #27

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SPOILERS

Part Two

The A & E documentary KISStory Part two is the story of the rock band Kiss, in the second part of their careers.

I still feel as if there are some things missing without Ace Frehley and Peter Criss’s actual involvement in the documentary. Any time Peter or Ace is heard in the doc, it is from archival footage or interviews and the doc started off with a message saying that they chose not to participate and they “do not endorse the views of this program.” That meant that this doc was from the POV of Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. I am truly curious how the story might differ.

This part of the doc started off with the band in some internal trouble, though they tried to force their way through it.

HOT TAKE: The Elder is my favorite Kiss album.

However, I may be the only one as the concept album seemed to be mentioned as one of the big mistakes of the group.

Peter Criss left the band, apparently after a concert where he was messing with the timing of the songs. That is one of the main functions of the drummer, and I could understand the feeling of betrayal that would bring up.

Ace Frehley was gone too, not long after Peter, leaving Kiss struggling with new musicians and characters from the band. They no longer had the Catman or the Spaceman in the group.

The doc showed the historic moment on MTV where KISS, for the first time, revealed themselves without the make-up and followed the band as it became another 1980s hair band.

The MTV Unplugged series was the first place where Peter and Ace returned for some songs, giving the idea that there could be a reunion at some point. The reunion tour was huge business and seemed to be a success at the start. However, the same demons that had pulled them apart in the late 70s apparently remained at this time. It was portrayed that Peter was upset over money and the perceived secondary status in the band behind Gene and Paul. I wish I had his official POV to see how accurate that was. Ace appeared to not be one who could handle the fame at the level KISS had reached.

I found myself with so much more respect for guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer, who were in the band and were removed when Ace and Peter returned. That felt tough, but they were total professionals. Tommy was even brought back in to help Peter and Ace get back to their levels of performance, and he wound up doing much of the tour manager duties.

It was a tough section involving the drummer who had replaced Peter in Kiss came up. Eric Carr came into the group and wound up dying form cancer. Paul and Gene told the story of Eric begging them to play on the song “God Gave Rock ‘N Roll To You” for the video, a song they recorded for the Bill & Ted Bogus Journey film. Paul’s description of Eric playing on that video was heartbreaking.

Both weeks of this doc ended really quickly, as it felt like something was being cut off.

I enjoyed this as I was always a fan of KISS, especially when I was younger. I was never an obsessed fan and I would be curious to hear what a deep fan thought of this documentary.

With this two-part doc series done, next week we start with a new show for the Sunday Morning Sidewalk. I think the series that will be next is the HBO show, Lovecraft Country.

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #26

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Spoilers

Week twenty-six of the Sunday Morning Sidewalk takes a bit of a turn as we start our first documentary series, a two-part show originally on A & E (which I watched on Disney +) featuring the EYG Hall of Fame rock band known as KISS.

The first episode of the series was about an hour and a half and outlined the early days of the band and their struggle to rise to the top of the record business, all the while struggling with their personal turmoil and behavior.

The doc heavily featured new interviews from Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, but only had archival footage or interviews with band members Peter Criss and Ace Frehley. There was a disclaimer that appeared in the documentary stating that Ace and Peter refused to participate in KISStory and did not agree with the presentation. That really triggered my curiosity. I knew that there had been issues between the band for years, especially with Ace and Peter, and I wanted to know why they refused to participate. Online, what I could find was that Ace and Peter refused because the amount of money offered was insultingly low and that they wanted final editing rights. I don’t know where that came from. Apparently, Peter Criss also refused to allow the song “Beth” to be used in the doc so that was in my head the entire time they were discussing the success of that song and how it helped propel the group upwards.

Peter and Ace were shown to have their own problems, specifically with alcohol and drugs, but I do not think it was done to the exclusion of the others. Gene spoke of his own issues, trying to put his ego aside while Paul spoke about plenty of his own troubles, including his anxiety over a birth defect he had with his ear. It did not feel like the doc piled on Ace and Peter. They definitely included how important they were to the band. Heck, even Gene and Paul admitted that the band’s sound did not come into focus until Ace came in to audition.

The feelings of the band were being made clear as they became more successful and started doing things like “KISS Meets the Phantom” or going more disco with “I Was Made for Loving You.” They addressed how some fans felt as if the group sold out as the success came fast. You could tell from the way Paul and Gene spoke about it that they felt much the same way, but they could not refuse it.

The clips from the Tom Snyder interview where Ace was clearly drunk were amazing. The looks on the faces of Gene and Paul were unmistakable and were painful to watch. The anger in their eyes was so obvious that anyone should have been able to see it.

The first episode ended with Ace’s announcement that he wanted to do solo work, and the band was definitely falling apart.

I truly would wish to have had more than just Paul and Gene’s voices in the doc, reflecting back on the history of this band. Peter and Ace’s absence 100% put a cloud over the documentary, even if it felt as if the doc did a good job of being balanced despite of their absence.

Next week will be part two of KISStory for the Sunday Morning Sidewalk and we’ll see where the band went from there.

Going to Venus

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By Billy Bob Joe

Part 1

 I went to space it was a delight but when I got there it was a fright 

I landed on venus plucked some grapes ate them up and maybe some tape

I went to explore and was very adored 

I saw some kids playing with toys and made me think of little boys 

They were playing with a seesaw and it made me beatbox 

My partner antonio tried to go to romio 

These words can’t describe the delight but a one word could be fright 

Antonio and I saw some things it was very weird 

He wanted to go to jupiter but if he went he’d get stupider we stayed on venus and he became the meanest 

My grace was taken just like brace taken off I no longer want to be here but I won’t be sent off

On venus here I am to this day and i’m starting to want to stay i’ve seen some things it was pretty scary but antonio started looking hairy 

Antonio said come on brad go find your dad 


Part 2 

These weird people came to my planet and I know they aint it 

I need to find away for them to stay before the vanish away 

They won’t be here much longer so we need to make venus stronger 

You may pay to live another day 

I will steal your rocket key for you to find peace 

Me as an alien I’ve found a way to make these ugly people stay 

I went on the rocket took some food chewed it up like pizza hut 

It would be crude to not be nude 

I plucked some grapes and planting tape

I needed some help so I went to yelp 

I saw this guy named Mr. Fuss and he definitely wasn’t a bus 

He came off the rocket but antonio had to block him

These people were walking around and exploring but 

that one astronaut was adoring 

These people are weird and they need to stay i wouldn’t want them to vanish away

They are starting to like my planet venus it is i like it to don’t be rude i’ll tell you to 

This weird man named antonio looked very hairy 

There’s a code blue and I’m a slug alien too!

O’Dessa

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Haven’t had a rock opera in awhile.

Well, there is one on Hulu right now starring Stranger Things star Sadie Sink. It is called O’Dessa and it is something. I feel as if I should sit with this one awhile.

Sadie Sink played the titular character O’Dessa Galloway, a young farm girl who takes her father’s guitar and set off to become a rambler, a traveling musician, like her father. Along the way, she met Euri Dervish (Kelvin Harrison Jr) and she fell in love with him. O’Dessa must overcome series of obstacles in the way of their love to play one song for the world.

There are things that this movie does extremely well and things that it does poorly. It is definitely a mixed bag for me. Starting with the positives, Sadie Sink is absolutely the star of this movie and she showed that she has a bright career after her days in Hawkins, Indiana come to a close. She has amazing charisma and displays a lot of talent, elevating the movie above what the script gives her.

That script is one of the weaknesses of the film as there is not much there below the surface area of plot and character development.

As I mentioned in my recent review of Disney’s Snow White remake, the music in O’Dessa is entertaining and, in the moment, I enjoyed it, but I am not sure that I will remember any of the songs and it did not inspire me to go buy it on Apple Music. So that is a push. I enjoyed listening to the music during the film, but it does not occupy a place in my head as great musicals would.

The post-apocalyptic world is an interesting mishmash of styles and imagery. Some areas felt like the world of “Fallout” while others feature technology and neon energy such as Blade Runner. It felt as if there should have been one or the other.

Regina Hall and Murray Bartlett appear as a couple of villainous characters that do not have much more than the villainy that they commit. Both are outstanding actors that bring more to their roles than what was on the page. The ending segment with Sadie Sink and Murray Bartlett was engaging and thrilling even if there was not a ton of depth to the characters. I truly believe that this is because of the skill of these actors.

Overall, I would give O’Dessa a slight positive as the best parts outweighed the weaknesses and the music is passable enough for an under two hour film. I do not think this will be a cult favorite though which is what it should have strived for.

3.1 stars

Whitney (2018)

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January 25

One of the greatest voices of music has also one of the most tragic stories is the documentary for today’s Genre-ary. Whitney Houston had so many struggles in her short and successful life, from drugs and pressures of her life. The 2018 documentary Whitney was on Netflix (though it is leaving at the end of the month).

Filmmaker Kevin Macdonald used archival footage, some great performances and interviews to give a picture of Whitney Houston’s life.

The music of Whitney Houston is amazing, and that comes through in this documentary, although there could be more about the music. However, the story of what happens and what led to her untimely death is very tough. The relationships in Whitney’s world was shown as a major part of her downfall. That included her marriage to Bobby Brown and the difficult connection with her father.

It was hard to watch the two sides of Whitney Houston that we saw in the doc. It was such a struggle in her life and how the events took such a toll on her.

It is a difficult doc to watch, even if there may not be anything new revealed of her story. Putting it in one spot like this is powerful.

Amy (2015)

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January 19

Today’s Genre-ary was an Academy Award winner from 2016. Amy is the story of British singer/songwriter Amy Winehouse.

I knew only a little bit of Amy Winehouse. I am unfamiliar with her music, but I did know of her death in 2011 and I had heard of this documentary from A24 when it was making the rounds in 2015.

Constructed by home movies, archival footage and personal interviews, Amy paints a picture of a remarkably talented woman who struggled with the traps of fame and the dangers of excess that, at times, went hand and hand with it.

Watching this tragedy unfold in this documentary, I was struck with the idea that Amy Winehouse never truly knew who she was or that she was always afraid of the truth and she spent plenty of time running from it by the drug use or the alcohol. It seemed as if there were two powerful men in her life whom she adored, her father Mitch and her husband Blake Fielder, and both of them appeared to take advantage of her celebrity. The scenes of her father bringing a camera crew to an island hideaway with Amy was repulsive.

Amy never felt comfortable as a celebrity. The constant imagery of her moving through a pool of paparazzi with cameras clicking away is one of the enduring depiction of this doc.

Another is the amazing strength of Amy’s voice and her songwriting skills. The doc had all kinds of performances from recordings over her career with lyrics to the songs written on screen allowing the song to speak as much as the sadness surrounding much of her existance.

You know you’re something special when you can have legendry singer Tony Bennett end the documentary with the quote, “She was one of the truest jazz singers I ever heard. To me, she should be treated like Ella Fitzgerald, like Billie Holliday. She had the complete gift.”

ReMastered: The Two Killings of Sam Cooke (2019)

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January 10

Another ReMastered documentary on Netflix was today’s entry in the Genre-ary. This time, the ReMastered doc is focused on musician Sam Cooke.

Sam Cooke was a black musician who was gaining a lot of power during the 1960s through his amazing music and his desire to help bring about civil rights. Cooke was forming friendships with other powerful black men of the period including Cassius Clay, Malcom X and Jim Brown.

Sam Cooke’s murder was a mess. The story that was in 1964, Cooke picked up a woman and went crazy. She believed that she was about to be raped. Her story was that she grabbed his pants and took off. Cooke went after her and wound up being shot by the hotel manager. The trial was determined to be justifiable homicide.

Most of the people who had been interviewed in the documentary could not believe that this was truth. There was some speculation that there was a conspiracy behind this event as Sam Cooke was becoming a very powerful man and he had created a recoding studio that threatened the industry. The end certainly did not mesh with the the picture that we had been shown about Cooke.

We heard interviews from Smokey Robinson, Quincy Jones, Jim Brown, Dionne Warwick, Lou Adler, and Billy Davis.

The doc was interesting and engaging. It featured a person that I did not know much about and had a amazing, though way too short life.

Too Funny to Fail: The Life & Death of The Dana Carvey Show (2017)

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Disney + is the home for tonight’s Genre-ary film, Too Funny to Fail: The Life & Death of The Dana Carvey Show.

According to IMDB, “this feature length documentary from director Josh Greenbaum (Becoming Bond, The Short Game) will take a fresh and irreverent look at the successes and humorous missteps of a show that brought together an amazing slew of future comedy giants before they were household names. Featuring interviews with Dana Carvey, Robert Smigel, Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, and more, the film will explore the creation of the show as the brainchild of two of Saturday Night Live’s most beloved alumni, the twists and turns of its brief life on air, and its legacy-one of stellar careers, lasting relationships, and an affirmation that in art, risks are always worth taking.”

The Dana Carvey Show was a sketch show on ABC that lasted just seven episodes. Dana Carvey was coming off the huge success of his time on Saturday Night Live and he was going to do a sketch show featuring a lot of counter-culture comedy.

The doc started with the creation of the show, and the hiring of the cast. The cast turned out to include Steve Carell and Stephen Colbert, who would be major stars later. Robert Smigel, who was also the voice and creator of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, was one of the creative forces, along with Dana Carvey.

The doc was extremely funny as it had all of these comedians and performers speak on the reason this show collapsed and the process of making the show. You could tell that the creatives involved with The Dana Carvey Show really loved their time on the show, even if, in reflection, they understood what they were putting on the air was doomed from the start.

I was entertained by the memories and commentary of these funny people. It is a wonder that they failed so sensationally.

ReMastered: Tricky Dick and the Man in Black (2018)

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January 6th

Today’s Genre-ary documentary I found on Netflix and it was a short doc about the time Johnny Cash was asked by President Richard Nixon to come and play at the White House.

The doc gave us some basic background on both Johnny Cash and on Richard Nixon. The Nixon section was specifically focused in on the Vietnam controversies among his presidency.

The doc talked about Nixon using the “Southern Strategy” that has been well documented in Presidential politics since the sixties when the south became more of a Republican stronghold instead of a consistent Democratic voters. It brought up how Nixon used some dog whistles to bring out the “Silent majority” to support the Republican party and create a nation of divisiveness. It was very connected to the present day politics and how it has its roots in this time frame.

The doc never went into too much detail about any of the sections, as it was just under an hour long.

It was interesting seeing how Johnny Cash was affected by his own trip to Vietnam and how he made some changes to the songs Nixon had requested Cash play at the White House. Both of the songs he asked for were songs that took shots at some of the marginalized people of the time, including hippies and those on Welfare.

I liked this doc, but I really believe it could have gone into much more details about the performance and about the two figures of American culture. It touched on a lot of the issues, but it did not go into enough depth.

2024 Year in Review: Best Documentary

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I do enjoy a good documentary. I am going to have a list of top ten documentaries for the year. Nine of them are movie format and one is a weekly series. There were a lot of weekly series that intrigued me, but it is harder to fit those into the schedule than straight movies.

I am also going to officially announce here that in January, for the annual Genre-ary DailyView, where I watch a movie that I have not seen in a certain genre every day for the whole month. This is the third year for the Genre-ary (we have had sci-fi and musicals) and in 2025, the topic for Genre-ary is Documentaries. This starts on Wednesday, January 1st.

Best Documentary

Previous Winners:  Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, My Scientology Movie, Tickled, Finding Neverland, Tiger King, The Beatles: Get Back, Lights & Magic, Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie

Here are the top 10 docs of 2024.

#10. Elton John: Never Too Late. A look at Elton John’s life and his music. Found on Disney +.

#9. Blink. An emotional story of a family who had 3 out of 4 of their children who had a genetic disorder that would eventual lead them to lose their sight. Their family went on a trip across the planet to give the kids experiences they could always remember.

#8. Brats. I saw this on Hulu this year and it was all about the group of young actors from the 1980s called the Brat Pack and how that nomenclature affected their careers.

#7. Music by John Williams. Another Disney + doc on a famous figure, looking at the life of the iconic composer John Williams and all his amazing movie music.

#6. Bray Wyatt: Becoming Immortal. The WWE documentary on Bray Wyatt, who just passed away. The emotional doc spoke to his friends and his family, including brother Bo Dallas.

#5. Beatles ’64. Another Disney + doc, this time looking at the Beatles from 1964, the year they arrived in the United States.

#4. The Greatest Night in Pop. A Netflix doc that details the events of the night where the song “We Are the World” was recorded. Amazing footage from the actual night.

#3. The Jinx: Part Two. The one series on this list, and one that I considered to make the winner. I enjoyed this weekly series on MAX that followed the rest of the story of killer Robert Durst.

#2. Jim Henson Idea Man. This is the fifth doc from Disney + on this list. Ron Howard directed this documentary on the Muppet creator Jim Henson. Very emotional and a great look on one of the most creative men in entertainment.

#1. Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story. The doc on Christopher Reeve is powerful, emotional, and shows us what a hero Chris Reeve was, before and after he played Superman.

Elton John: Never Too Late

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Elton John is one of the greatest musicians from the 1970s and early ’80s, and there have been several versions about his life from A Life in Song to Rocketman. The latest Elton John documentary came to Disney + this month called Elton John: Never Too Late.

Fans of Elton John should love this documentary. The music is a highlight as they use some of his greatest songs as a soundtrack for the doc. There are moments in Elton John’s life that could have had more details developed within the doc.

Some of my own personal favorite parts of the doc included the section involving John Lennon, the details surrounding Elton John’s suicide attempt and his initial relationship with Bernie Taupin.

I also enjoyed how the doc used animated sections to visualize a series of interviews or tape recording that were used in the doc for the first time. Some of the pain from Elton John’s life was tough to hear and I appreciate how he was willing to go into the story for the doc.

I did enjoy the new song, ‘Never Too Late’ with Brandi Carlile, that played over the credits of the documentary.

This was an engaging documentary, but it could have gone into more depth than it did. However, it does touch on some things that are intriguing and the music is fantastic.

3.85 stars

2024 Year in Review: Movie Musicals

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Okay… this is going to be an easy one I think.

We added this category recently, but backtracked to award some previous films the award.

Movie Musicals

Inside Llewyn Davis (2013), Whiplash (2014), Pitch Perfect 2 (2015), La La Land (2016), The Greatest Showman (2017), Mary Poppins Returns (2018), Rocketman (2019), Hamilton (2020), Tick, Tick… Boom! (2021), Matilda the Musical (2022), The Color Purple (2023)

We had some musicals in 2024. There was Piece by Piece, which was a musical documentary, in Lego format doing the life of Pharrell Williams. Moana 2 is a huge box office success, but, truthfully, the music just did not hit as well as the original. That’s what happens when you do not have Lin-Manuel Miranda doing your music. Speaking of Miranda, he is doing the music for the upcoming Mufasa film from Disney, and while that is probably going to be great, I do not think it will match this year’s winner. Joker: Folie à Deux was a disappointment in a lot of ways, and musically was one of them. They really did not take advantage of Lady Gaga. Mean Girls was very forgettable from way back in January. Emilia Perez was a powerful movie, but I can honestly say that much of the music in this film, I do not remember. I do not consider Bob Marley: One Love to be a musical, though I could mention it as an effective use of music.

2024 Movie Movie Musical of the Year:

Wicked

Yeah, this one was easy. This is a massive hit and a tremendous film. The rendition of “Defying Gravity” in this film is goosebump creating. Both Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo were stunning with their voices and made this iconic Broadway play a must see movie…even as a Part 1. Could this be foreshadowing next year’s winner too?

Beatles ’64

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There is a brand new documentary on Disney + that dropped today featuring the Beatles. There have been several docs about the Beatles over the last few years and this one looks specifically at the year 1964, the year the Beatles came to the shores of the USA.

Told through the perspective of many of the people who saw the Beatles during this time as well as several behind the scenes interviews with the Beatles themselves, Beatles ’64 is a documentary that will be loved by the fans of the Fab Four.

It was cool to see the images of the younger Beatles, before they found their way to the music of the later sixties.

The music of the doc was great. “Love Me Do,” “I Wanna Hold Your Hand,” “She Loves You,” “This Boy,” and “Roll Over Beethoven” were some of the songs we heard during the doc, including the performance on the Ed Sullivan Show.

It is amazing that the Beatles have enough popularity even today to support yet another documentary focused on them. And that there is enough material on them to fill yet another entertaining doc.

4 stars

Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

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We have another documentary for the 4F as I am on Hulu/Disney + watching Road Diary, following a recent return tour from Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.

Honestly, I am not a huge fan of Bruce Springsteen. I do not mind his music, but I am just not as familiar to it than I am in some other music. Because of this, I was not as filled with joy and wonder as some might be.

Having said that, there are some cool moments of watching how this band of musicians can come together after five years of inactivity and create a tour of American music.

Listening to the E Street Band discuss their music making as well as Bruce and his mastery of the form is interesting. I did not know that Steven Van Zandt was in the E Street Band. Van Zandt is a musician I had heard of and the only other musician I was aware of in the E Street Band was the late Clarence Clemons. It was intriguing to discover that Clemons’ nephew, Jake, replaced Clarence in the band.

I feel as if you are a Bruce Springsteen fan, this would be like candy to you. For me, it was an okay look at a powerful musician who I have had a healthy respect for over many years.

3 stars