Remember This Money-Grubbing Asshole?

This was televangelist Robert Tilton’s usual spiel, swindling every last penny from poor folks who were at the end of the proverbial rope. What a piece of shit.

And I’m sure you’re all familiar with this series of videos in which some video-editing genius used Tilton’s ridiculous facial expressions, pauses, and verbal tics to hilarious effect.

But I had not seen this video. This is another kind of genius. Anyway, enjoy or don’t.

What’s The Deal With That Song?

It’s such a fine line between stupid and clever. Somehow, this song manages to be both. I’ve heard “Werewolves of London” on the radio most of my life without ever giving it much thought – until today.

You might know that this was the first single off Excitable Boy, Zevon’s third solo album. You might even know that it stayed in the Billboard Top 40 for a month, reaching number 21 on the Hot 100 in May of 1978. But did you know Mick Fleetwood and John McVie are playing on it? Wikipedia, where you at?

The song began as a joke by Phil Everly (of The Everly Brothers) to Zevon in 1975, three years before the recording sessions for Excitable Boy. Everly had watched a television broadcast of the 1935 film Werewolf of London and “suggested to Zevon that he adapt the title for a song and dance craze.” Zevon, LeRoy Marinel and Waddy Wachtel played with the idea and wrote the song in about 15 minutes, all contributing lyrics that were transcribed by Zevon’s then-wife Crystal. The song is in the key of G major, with a three-chord progression that runs throughout. However, none of them took the song seriously.

Not long after, Jackson Browne saw the lyrics and thought it had potential, so he started playing “Werewolves” live. (T-Bone Burnett also played it on the first leg of Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Review in 1975.) Zevon thought about putting it on his second solo album in 1976, but for some reason, decided against it.

According to Wachtel, “Werewolves of London” was “the hardest song to get down in the studio I’ve ever worked on.” They tried at least seven different configurations of musicians in the recording studio before being satisfied with McVie and Fleetwood’s contributions. The protracted studio time and musicians’ fees led to the song eating up most of the album’s budget.

Zevon later said of the song, “I don’t know why that became such a hit. We didn’t think it was suitable to be played on the radio. It didn’t become an albatross. It’s better that I bring something to mind than nothing. I still think it’s funny.” He also described “Werewolves of London” as a novelty song, “[but] not a novelty the way, say, Steve Martin’s ‘King Tut’ is a novelty.”

This Be The Verse

By Philip Larkin

They fuck you up, your mum and dad.
They may not mean to, but they do.
They fill you with the faults they had
And add some extra, just for you.

But they were fucked up in their turn
By fools in old-style hats and coats,
Who half the time were soppy-stern
And half at one another’s throats.

Man hands on misery to man.
It deepens like a coastal shelf.
Get out as early as you can,
And don’t have any kids yourself.

This poem was my introduction to Larkin. I don’t agree with the last two lines, but holy fucking shit, I’ve never agreed with anything more for the rest of it.

Stay Free

Did any of you bastards know that Spotify produces their own podcasts now? Here’s one about The Clash that debuted at the end of February. Obviously, you’ll need a Spotify account to listen, but the free version will get you there.

Check it out here.

Ramones 12th Show Ever

CBGB, September 15th, 1974. If there’s anything better than this, I don’t want to know what it is. Including the between-song arguments and Tommy bitching about how fast everything is.

1) Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue
2) I Don’t Wanna Go Down to the Basement
3) Judy Is a Punk

Welcome To The Basement

Anybody ever heard of it? These guys are goofy fun (and bad teeth) personified. This episode features one of my all-time favorite cult classics: Phantom of the Paradise. Make that my all-time favorite cult classic. I have to watch it at least once a year, much to my wife’s disgust. And don’t even get me started on the soundtrack. Pure GOLD.

“Welcome To The Basement” is a show about watching, discussing and having fun with movies. Matt choses the movie and Craig doesn’t know what it is until the cameras start rolling, so none of the discussion or riffing is planned ahead of time.

A cinematic odyssey through the rock universe?

Every Day Is Clash Day

Day late, dollar short. Happy belated International Clash Day!

This is anti-racist, and anti-fear. This is pro-solidarity, pro-unity, and pro-inclusion. This is a public service announcement with GUITARS.

This is International Clash Day 2019, and all day long, all across the globe, we’re celebrating music as a tool for social consciousness, a band that made it sound so damn good, and an iconic record that still changes lives 40 years later.

Check out the other great posters on the dang ol’ site.