Attention: Other Other Elvis

Something of interest for you, perhaps?

Memoir by the cofounder and former lead guitarist of heavy metal giants Judas Priest

Judas Priest formed in the industrial city of Birmingham, England, in 1969. With its distinctive twin-guitar sound, studs-and-leather image, and international sales of over 50 million records, Judas Priest became the archetypal heavy metal band in the 1980s. Iconic tracks like “Breaking the Law,” “Living after Midnight,” and “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin'” helped the band achieve extraordinary success, but no one from the band has stepped out to tell their or the band’s story until now.

As the band approaches its golden anniversary, fans will at last be able to delve backstage into the decades of shocking, hilarious, and haunting stories that surround the heavy metal institution. In Heavy Duty, guitarist K.K. Downing discusses the complex personality conflicts, the business screw-ups, the acrimonious relationship with fellow heavy metal band Iron Maiden, as well as how Judas Priest found itself at the epicenter of a storm of parental outrage that targeted heavy metal in the ’80s. He also describes his role in cementing the band’s trademark black leather and studs image that would not only become synonymous with the entire genre, but would also give singer Rob Halford a viable outlet by which to express his sexuality. Lastly, he recounts the life-changing moment when he looked at his bandmates on stage during a 2009 concert and thought, “This is the last show.” Whatever the topic, whoever’s involved, K.K. doesn’t hold back.

BONUS!

This Looks Kinda Cool …

Directed by Cary Fukunaga (Beasts of No Nation, True Detective). Available for viewing on Netflix September 21.

Set in a world somewhat like our world, in a time quite similar to our time, Maniac tells the stories of Annie Landsberg (Emma Stone) and Owen Milgrim (Jonah Hill), two strangers drawn to the late stages of a mysterious pharmaceutical trial, each for their own reasons. Annie’s disaffected and aimless, fixated on broken relationships with her mother and her sister; Owen, the fifth son of wealthy New York industrialists, has struggled his whole life with a disputed diagnosis of schizophrenia. Neither of their lives have turned out quite right, and the promise of a new, radical kind of pharmaceutical treatment—a sequence of pills its inventor, Dr. James K. Mantleray (Justin Theroux), claims can repair anything about the mind, be it mental illness or heartbreak—draws them and ten other strangers to the facilities of Neberdine Pharmaceutical and Biotech for a three-day drug trial that will, they’re assured, with no complications or side-effects whatsoever, solve all of their problems, permanently. Things do not go as planned.

What Happened To Gibson?

I was wondering how the company that once made the best (in my opinion) six-string electrics alienated so many loyal customers and landed in bankruptcy.   Did some googling and came across the all-too-common tale of misplaced priorities, high staff turnover,  and ego-driven incompetence at the top.  It took bankruptcy to convince their CEO that just maybe they should focus on building  good guitars.   Fortunately he’s on the way out.  Here is a pretty good summary.

Mort Drucker Interview

Fantastic.

One of the most innovative, inspirational and imitated artists in the history of cartooning, Mort Drucker has illuminated the pages of MAD Magazine since 1956 with his brilliant movie and TV caricatures. His Time covers hang in the National Portrait Gallery and he holds an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from the Art Institute of Boston. In 1987, the National Cartoonists Society awarded him the profession’s highest honor, the Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year.

In 2015, he became the inaugural recipient of the NCS Medal of Honor. To mark the occasion, the NCS created a commemorative video. Filmed at Mort’s home studio in Long Island, New York, the legendary artist talked to his friend and fellow cartoonist John Reiner, the artist on the hugely popular features The Lockhorns, Howard Huge and Laugh Parade.

In a warm and enthralling conversation, the pair reflected on Mort’s path from his teenage days as a comic book assistant artist to his rapid ascent to the pinnacle of the profession, and discussed the attention to detail and quest for cartooning excel;;once that haas been the hallmark of Drucker’s illustrious career.

Dreaming The Beatles: The Love Story Of One Band And The Whole World

Thanks to Fat Elvis for bringing this to my attention. So far, so good.

NPR Best Book of 2017

Winner of the 2017 Virgil Thomson Award for Outstanding Music Criticism

“This is the best book about the Beatles ever written” —Mashable

Rob Sheffield, the Rolling Stone columnist and bestselling author of Love Is a Mix Tape offers an entertaining, unconventional look at the most popular band in history, the Beatles, exploring what they mean today and why they still matter so intensely to a generation that has never known a world without them.

Dreaming the Beatles is not another biography of the Beatles, or a song-by-song analysis of the best of John and Paul. It isn’t another exposé about how they broke up. It isn’t a history of their gigs or their gear. It is a collection of essays telling the story of what this ubiquitous band means to a generation who grew up with the Beatles music on their parents’ stereos and their faces on T-shirts. What do the Beatles mean today? Why are they more famous and beloved now than ever? And why do they still matter so much to us, nearly fifty years after they broke up?

The Shining Set To Music

Who is Pogo, you may ask?

Pogo (Nick Bertke) is a music producer and remix artist based in Perth, Western Australia. His music has garnered over 110 million plays on YouTube and integration with many major studios and agencies around the world. Pogo also takes his work on the road having performed at the Guggenheim Museum, The Highline Ballroom and in most major cities across North America.