VHS youth: ‘The Last American Virgin’ (1982)

Another flick from the video-store racks of my childhood. Never saw it, although we all saw the girl here, Diane Franklin, as Monique the foreign exchange student in Better Off Dead.

Previously: Basket Case.

stinkard, n.

1. One who stinks. Formerly often used as a term of abuse. Now rare or Obs.

c1600 Timon I. ii. (1842) 6 Out, out, thou stinckard, mans grand enemy. 1601 B. Jonson Poetaster iv. i, The Gods were a sort of Goslinges, when they suffred so sweete a breath to perfume the bed of a stinkard. 1612 Chapman Widows' T. I. i. C3b, Your vnapprehending Stinckerd is blest with the sole prerogatiue of his Wiues chamber. 1684 Otway Atheist I. i. 7 The most insufferable Stinkard living. 1700 Congreve Way of World IV. xi, Your Turks are infidels, and believe not in the grape: your Mahometan, your Mussulman is a dry Stinkard.

†b. See quot. 1777. Also attrib. Obs.

1777 Robertson Hist. Amer. IV. (1778) I. 344 Among the Natchez ... Some families were reputed noble... The body of the people were considered as vile... The former were called Respectable; the latter the Stinkards. 1792 W. Bartram Trav. Carolina 464 Those numerous remnant bands or tribes ... generally speak the Stincard language.

2. A name given to various ill-smelling animals.

1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. III. 380 The Stinkards. This is a name which our sailors give to one or two animals of the weasel kind, which are chiefly found in America. Ibid. IV. 80 [The musk rat] is denominated by them [the savages of Canada] the stinkard. 1822 Southey in Q. Rev. XXVI. 281 The stinkard, who it seems is a sure shot at five feet distance, retreated leisurely..and stopt when the unhappy Jesuit drew nigh. 1843 J. E. Gray List Mammalia Brit. Mus. 69 The Stinkard or Teledu. Mydaus meliceps. Java.

3. A shark of the genus Mustelus.

1883 Day Fishes Gt. Brit. II. 296 Mustelus vulgaris... Smooth-hound,..Stinkard, in Ireland, due to its colour.

4. = stinker 5, stink pot 3.

1850 Scoresby Cheever's Whalem. Adv. iii. (1858) 40 Gonies, stinkards, horse-birds ... had all many a good morsel of blubber.

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Copyright © Oxford University Press

One reason to get excited about the ‘Doolittle’ tour

They open with the B-sides.

Here’s “Dancing the Manta Ray” in Los Angeles last night.

UPDATE: Stereogum informs us that the Pixies have released a free live EP on their website, with four songs recorded in Paris: “Dancing the Manta Ray,” “Monkey Gone to Heaven,” “Crackity Jones” and “Gouge Away.”

Michael Jackson’s Prince envy?

One of the odder things to come out of the news about the Michael Jackson film is his apparent anxiety about Prince. It’s a rivalry I was unaware of, but a couple of prominent statements by executives of AEG Live recently suggest that Michael had Prince very much in his mind when planning the show.

I believe this first came up in comments by Randy Phillips, CEO of AEG Live, who’s been the loudest inside voice about all things Michael. Here’s what he told Josh Rottenberg for Entertainment Weekly’s recent cover story:

With the budget already past $24 million, Jackson told his team he wanted to re-create one of the world’s largest waterfalls — Victoria Falls in southern Africa — on the stage. “I was ready to jump off the balcony of my office,” Phillips says. “We went and met with Michael, and Kenny said, ‘Michael, you’ve got to stop. We’ve got an incredible show; we don’t need any more vignettes.’ Michael said, ‘But Kenny, God channels this through me at night. I can’t sleep because I’m so supercharged.’ Kenny said, ‘But Michael, we have to finish. Can’t God take a vacation?’ Without missing a beat, Michael said, ‘You don’t understand — if I’m not there to receive these ideas, God might give them to Prince.’ ”

A great, if secondhand, anecdote, the kind that makes other reporters jealous. Seemed pretty random, though, until I read this report about a “This Is It” roundtable at Billboard’s touring conference this week. Again, this is sourced directly to Phillips and other top AEG execs:

The Jackson/AEG partnership resulted in a contract that initially included 31 dates, a number chosen by Jackson because it would be 10 more concerts than Prince performed. The number planned shows at the 02 Arena in London later grew to 50.

That’s the first time I’ve seen the number 31; the initial on-sale was for 10 shows, and I believe the run was extended straight to 50.

Another parallel: For Prince’s 21 shows at the O2 in 2007, he had a company called Kraken Opus — which designs “the world’s most expensive sports, arts and fashion books” — to put together a lavish, $2,100 commemorative book. Guess who MJ got to do his book?

And what does Prince think? There was chatter after MJ's death about how Prince had not made any comment. When he eventually did, in a French newspaper only a few weeks ago, it was with apparent reluctance and clear diplomacy:

Qu'avez-vous ressenti à la mort de Michael Jackson ?

(Prince, visiblement, ne veut pas s'étendre sur le sujet.) On est toujours triste de perdre quelqu'un qu'on a aimé.

[As translated by Michael Jackson fans:

How did you feel at the death of Michael Jackson?

(Prince, obviously reluctant, does not want to dwell on the subject.) It is always sad to lose someone you loved.]

‘We Intend To Create Havoc’

‘The Colossus of New York’

Thanks, Wrong Side of the Art.

A ‘cantankerous and cunning’ new Mickey Mouse

My colleague Brooks Barnes has a great story in tomorrow’s paper, online now, about Disney’s attempts to reboot Mickey Mouse, out of concerns “that Mickey has become more of a corporate symbol than a beloved character for recent generations of young people.”

“Mickey is never going to be evil or go around killing people,” sez the creative director for Epic Mickey, a new video game. But he adds: “I wanted him to be able to be naughty — when you’re playing as Mickey you can misbehave and even be a little selfish.”

Somewhat frightening: “The game also features a disemboweled, robotic Donald Duck and a ‘twisted, broken, dangerous’ version of Disneyland’s ‘It’s a Small World.’ ”

Brooks has been on a roll with Disney stories recently, all of them must-reads.

VHS youth: ‘Basket Case’ (1982)

An occasional series highlighting movies I remember from the video-store racks of my childhood but never actually saw. First up: “What’s in the basket?”

Nor have I seen Basket Case 2 or Basket Case 3: The Progeny.

Attention antedaters: ‘Air guitar’

I doubt that it dates only to 1983. Also, strange to cite a Sopranos script for use of “air guitar,” isn’t it?

air guitar, v.

orig. U.S.

1. intr. To mime the action of playing a guitar, esp. to a recording or performance of rock music. Cf. air guitar n.

1983 J. McKenna & M. Moffitt Compl. Air Guitar Handbk. xii. 49 (caption) Neil Young air guitars with Joni Mitchell and Robbie Robertson in The Last Waltz. 1990 Surfer Aug. 62 Martin Potter ... air guitaring and lip-synching to the Aerosmith Run/DMC version of Walk This Way. 2003 Bang Apr. 13/1 The former Spacemen 3 leader nearly knocks his pint over while air-guitaring.

2. trans. To mime the action of playing (music) on a guitar.

1994 Toronto Sun 17 Sept. 40/2 Cocker knew the arrangements so well that on occasion he would start air-guitaring a solo a few beats before his guitarist started picking. 1999 J. Cahill Guy walks into Psychiatrist’s Office in Sopranos (television shooting script) 2nd Ser. 42 (stage direct.) He drums the wheel, air-guitars the heavy riffs. 2006 Denver Post (Nexis) 17 Nov. ff7 We had fans go and upload to YouTube their videos of them ... air guitaring the song.

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Copyright © Oxford University Press

Some 2010 dates to circle

For new albums:


Jan. 12:

• Vampire Weekend, Contra (XL). From the single it’s clear they can write more than one good song. Whether the world will still be interested in the multi-culti preppyboy thing in 2010 — more than two years after it began its hype cycle — is yet to be seen.
  


• Tony Allen, Secret Agent (World Circuit/Nonesuch). There will be a Fela Kuti assault beginning shortly, loosely centered on the opening of Fela! on Broadway on Nov. 23. His entire catalog — 45 albums — will be reissued again, this time by the reactivated Knitting Factory label. Here’s the latest by Tony Allen, Fela’s drummer, who has made some very good solo records, and his appearance on World Circuit (run by Nick Gold, the guy behind Buena Vista Social Club) promises something high-quality.

Jan. 26:

• Spoon, Transference (Merge). It hasn’t been proclaimed enough, but Spoon is the best band in America, and everything Britt Daniels has touched over the last 10 years has been just about perfect. Were there a healthier and less splintered mediasphere right now, and were there some justice, a new Spoon album would be celebrated like This Is It. UPDATE: Here’s a stream of a new song, “Mystery Zone.” Sounds great, though I’m not sold on the mellotron. (Or is it just a mellotron-esque sample?)
  


• Beach House, Teen Dream (Sub Pop). Victoria Legrand’s voice is the most wonderful thing to emerge from indie-rock since Cat Power. Which, to remind you, was nearly 15 years ago.

FebruaryFeb. 10:

• Yeasayer, Odd Blood (Secretly Canadian). I really dug the prog-psych the last time around, even with the bassist’s haircut and mustache. Hoping it still sounds good. I guess I can’t complain about the facial hair anymore, but it would be good to see that gone. It has, after all, been more than two years. UPDATE: Free download of first single, “Ambling Alp,” here.

Dirty Orchjectors, and Chuck Biscuits update

Dirty Projectors has become the umpteenth touted, smart, beloved, but not huge-selling alt band to do the indie-orchestral thing, playing with the Los Angeles Philharmonic on Feb. 27.

It was probably inevitable. They follow Death Cab for Cutie, M83, Grizzly Bear, the Decemberists, Belle & Sebasitan, Air and Bright Eyes, all at the L.A. Phil; Joanna Newsom and, again, Grizzly Bear, both with the Brooklyn Phil; and Ben Folds with the Boston Pops. UPDATE: Even as I typed, Grizzly Bear was doing yet another orchestral gig, in London.

I didn’t expect when I got up this morning that I would be giving thanks to Henry Rollins. But thanks, Henry, for never singing “T.V. Party” with the Boston Phil at Tanglewood.

In other sorta Rollins-related news, it appears all but certain that Chuck Biscuits is alive and that his death was a hoax. Read more about it, if you’re not already too disgusted and offended by the whole thing.

Chuck Biscuits, RIP?

Very sad news, just in from The Daily Swarm:

Legendary hard rock drummer Chuck Biscuits, whose lengthy résumé included stints in such flagship underground acts as Black Flag and Social Distortion, died Saturday after a prolonged battle with throat cancer. He was 44… Chuck Biscuits was probably best known to the general populous for his work with Danzig. Beginning in 1988, Chuck played on that group’s first four albums, which are often hailed as Danzig’s best (thanks in no small part to Chuck’s powerful drumming style).

UPDATE: It's unclear whether this is actually true. James Greene Jr., the writer who first reported this, based on emails from someone claiming to be Chuck's wife, says that he has been contacted by family members, who deny it, but in an email to me he said he's still trying to verify it.

The vengeance of the mommy?

Oh, sorry, the vengeance of the mummy. Got it.

Note: That ain’t no ordinary gringo mummy, nor are those luchadoras any ordinary damsels!

(Thanks, Wrong Side of the Art.)

125th Street station

CMJ, MJ, obits

I’m covering CMJ like a chicken with his head tweeted off, including the four-word reviews that in the past people seem to have liked, though I haven’t done in a while.

The reason last night was my first out for CMJ instead of Tuesday: my report today on the Michael Jackson movie.

In other news: Alberto Testa, the Italian lyricist who wrote “Quando Quando Quando,” died on Monday at age 82. (Made famous in the U.S. by Pat Boone, in translation; Connie Francis did it in Italian.)

This follows news of the death of singer Carli Boni a few days ago, at 84. She did a lovely Italian version of “Johnny Guitar.”

‘Here Comes Your Man’ stage video, and Pixies news

With visual reference to the original videos of both “Here Comes Your Man” and “Head On,” this plays as the stage backdrop while the Pixies do “Here Comes Your Man” on their current Doolittle tour, which has been going through Europe this month and arrives in the U.S. via Los Angeles in two weeks, with opening acts.

Pixiesmusic.com “has been attacked by hackers in China,” and apparently as a result, the band has changed its official Twitter account from @pixiesmusic to simply @pixies. UPDATE: Now they say that Pixiesmusic.com is unhacked and “running clean as a whistle,” but they’re still on the new Twitter account.

Black Francis is eating fancy sandwiches.

Joey Santiago has ... “hamtrhax”?

Black Francis tweets new song titles

Ok...titles for songs on new record...in no particular order:

LAKE OF SIN

O MY TIDY SUM

RABBITS

WHEELS

DEAD MAN’S CURVE

CORRINA

SIX LEGGED MAN

THE WILD SON

WHEN I GO DOWN ON YOU

NON STOP EROTIC

CINEMA STAR

Lately he’s “recovering from Arles” (on tour), and feeling “sexual” and “sensual” while indulging “mindblowing” apple tarts, cheese and Valence Royale sandwiches (“goat cheese honey walnut chervil”).