Tag Archives: Classic Rock

Love & Mercy (2015)

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Music bio pics are rarely masterpieces, and while “Love & Mercy” is itself a fine movie, it’s not the entry in to the long library in the sub-genre that’s changed my mind about music bio pics just yet. Much like previous films about musical geniuses, the film gets lost in a miasma of pit falls, including the inability to balance the story of the musician and the story of the man himself. So we’re thrust back and forth in to what ends as a flawed, but above average tale about mental illness, and the creation of art. “Love & Mercy” takes the concept of the bio pic above the norm, focusing on Brian Wilson, the founder of the Beach Boys through two stages of his life. One as a young man, and through his perils as a middle aged man. In both stages he’s enduring the horrors of mental illness and is systematically being victimized by someone in his life that he finds incapable of escaping.

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Scooby Doo Meets KISS: Rock and Roll Mystery (2015)

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If you’re one of the many KISS fans that have always wondered what a sequel to “KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park” would look like, look no further. “Scooby Doo Meets KISS” should be more aptly titled “KISS Meets the Crimson Witch featuring Scooby Doo.” In all honesty, while this is primarily a cartoon for the Scooby Doo franchise, the majority of the film is based around KISS and their magical presences. Even the opening sequence is comprised of wonderful animated KISS montages with “Rock and Roll All Night” playing rather than the Scooby Doo theme song.

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What Our “Awesome Mix” Playlist Would Look Like

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Next month is the release of the blockbuster action film “Guardians of the Galaxy,” and it’s every damn bit as great as you’ve heard. It deserves its high praise and big box office. One of the key elements of the film that make up the character of Star Lord is his mixed audio cassette “Awesome Mix Vol. 1” which includes his favorite songs from the mid seventies to late eighties from when he was a child. It’s the sound track that is the icing to an already fantastic film. Like every other music lover we have our own list of songs we’d include in an “Awesome Mix,” so without further ado, here’s our playlist.

Let us know the songs for your “Awesome Mix” in the comments!

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The T.A.M.I. Show: Collector’s Edition (DVD)

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Getting 1964’s “The T.A.M.I. Show” finally on a Collector’s Edition DVD fully restored for the rock fans is a special occasion. If only because “The T.A.M.I. Show” has long been a concert film that has been seen mainly through bootlegs and was sabotaged for a long time. Even film buff Quentin Tarantino never had a complete bootleg, and finally the entirety of “The T.A.M.I. Show” is on DVD from Shout! with nary a single dull moment to be had. What’s so fun about “The T.A.M.I. Show” is that it’s just an unabashed celebration of diversity in rock and roll, and how various artists have shaped it in to something incredible.

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The Midnight Special Collection (DVD)

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Though I was born in 1983, I was given the advantage of an uncle who’d recorded hours of musical performances from the original “The Midnight Special” series, and kept them archived well. Through those recordings I was introduced to myriad of pop and rock acts from the 1970’s as well as the charismatic hosting and MCing from the one and only Wolfman Jack. “The Midnight Special” was very much like “American Bandstand” in that it celebrated music, and was more prone to offering harder edged musical acts and performances for a wider audience. It’s still a very valuable artifact of rock and pop, and thankfully has been given a new transfer for collectors.

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The Fifth Beatle: The Brian Epstein Story [Hardcover]

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There aren’t many music fans that are aware of Brian Epstein and the legacy that he crafted. Though he isn’t as much of a household name as Berry Gordy or Quincy Jones, Brian Epstein created what would be pegged as “The British Invasion,” and introduced the world to the fab four, the lads from Liverpool, The Beatles! Author Vivek Tawdry with amazing art from Andrew C. Robinson and Kyle Baker don’t just craft the story of one of the most incredible music visionaries of all time, but of a man who could never quite come to terms with his sexuality. “The Fifth Beatle” focuses on Brian Epstein’s rise to stardom and eventual discovery of the Beatles, four men whom he felt deep affection for.

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Our 25 Favorite “The Beatles” Songs of All Time

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It’s been almost thirty five years since John Lennon was murdered outside his home, and though his death was tragic and inhuman, Lennon’s spirit and artistic influence has lived on for decades. Lennon was a voice for peace and rallying people to think outside the box and question the status quo, and his influence began with his work in the Beatles as one of the most iconic, if not the most iconic rock band in music history. In celebration of Lennon’s memory, here are twenty five of the best The Beatles songs we’ve ever heard. I’d like to thank you on behalf of Cinema Crazed, and I hope I passed the audition.

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