Plato Shrimp / The Morgue

**Posted by Jinnistan** 4/27/2023 8:21 pm

I'm happy that we're limiting the thread to people we respect and ignoring at least two people who may have died today.

**Posted by crumbsroom** 5/01/2023 8:42 pm

Gordon Lightfoot

**Posted by Jinnistan** 5/01/2023 9:34 pm

My condolences to Canada.

**Posted by crumbsroom** 5/01/2023 9:51 pm

Jinnistan wrote:
My condolences to Canada.

I'm trying to figure out if there is any other songwriter more representative of the "Canadian identity" than Lightfoot...like, obviously Neil Young...but Young is also maybe a little too strange for the average hoser out here, and Lightfoot hits that middle of the road spot pretty sweetly.

I've honestly never listened to the guy very much. He has a handful of songs I like a lot, but much of it kind of just blends into the beaver print wallpaper for me. But....I also have never dug very far into his work. I lost all of his studio albums when the big blow out in my grandmother's basement happened and all my neglected shit was basically given away, and all I have now is his 2 disc greatest hits album, which I'm pretty sure I've only ever listened to one side of.

But still, the guys imprint here is indelible, even for a non quite believer like myself.

And I also thought he was already dead.

**Posted by Rampop II** 5/02/2023 3:39 am

crumbsroom wrote:
Gordon Lightfoot

I know someone who's gonna be really sad about this.

Oh, hello everyone.

**Posted by Rampop II** 5/02/2023 3:40 am

Harry Belafonte deserves a handsome writeup... of a caliber way beyond my pay grade.

**Posted by crumbsroom** 5/02/2023 10:00 am

Rampop II wrote:
Harry Belafonte deserves a handsome writeup... of a caliber way beyond my pay grade.

When I was younger, all I had to calibrate my Belafonte compass was the Day-O scene in Beetlejuice, a scene I hate in a movie I've never liked. So I completely just wrote him off by association.

But one of the wonders about digging into favorite artists and being led towards their favorite music influences and north stars is, through Bob Dylan, I found my way to the likes of Dave Van Ronk and Odetta and John Jacob Nile and, ultimately, Belafonte, even as I rolled my eyes.

I eventually picked up a couple of his records for like ten cents and they both are knock outs. Nearly every track that man has a command over the listener. He's understandably a great one.

**Posted by Rock** 5/02/2023 11:48 am

Criterion featured a bunch of his movies on their service last year. Some interesting ones in the mix. I remember liking The World, the Flesh and the Devil quite a bit.

**Posted by Jinnistan** 5/03/2023 8:17 am

crumbsroom wrote:
the Day-O scene in Beetlejuice, a scene I hate in a movie I've never liked.

**Posted by Rampop II** 5/04/2023 2:55 pm

crumbsroom wrote:
Rampop II wrote:
Harry Belafonte deserves a handsome writeup... of a caliber way beyond my pay grade.
When I was younger, all I had to calibrate my Belafonte compass was the Day-O scene in Beetlejuice, a scene I hate in a movie I've never liked. So I completely just wrote him off by association.

But one of the wonders about digging into favorite artists and being led towards their favorite music influences and north stars is, through Bob Dylan, I found my way to the likes of Dave Van Ronk and Odetta and John Jacob Nile and, ultimately, Belafonte, even as I rolled my eyes.

I eventually picked up a couple of his records for like ten cents and they both are knock outs. Nearly every track that man has a command over the listener. He's understandably a great one.

A phenomenon as an artist, he was also an important part of the Civil Rights Movement in the US, the anti–apartheid movement in South Africa, and other political/social justice causes, and I don't mean just writing songs and giving speeches. The man had real skin in the game.

**Posted by crumbsroom** 5/08/2023 10:01 am

Jinnistan wrote:
crumbsroom wrote:
the Day-O scene in Beetlejuice, a scene I hate in a movie I've never liked.

That gif alone contains enough information to remind me why I don't like this movie.

It's so ugly. It's so flat. It's so Burton.

The rare film I'd be up for a remake of, even though it would clearly end up being worse because a studio could never be trusted with it.

The premise is still there though. Just get Burton's sticky fingers out of the mix juicing up every second with his goth jizz.

**Posted by crumbsroom** 5/08/2023 10:04 am

Phoenix in movieforums did a pretty good job of explaining the beauty of a film like Edward Scissorhands (I think he used to word 'delicate touch', which is accurate and not something I'd usually ascribe to Burton).

Beetlejuice on the other hand is a complete trifecta of pirouette, trip and then faceplant straight into the corpse paint. No thanks.

**Posted by Jinnistan** 5/08/2023 5:37 pm

Beetlejuice is just about the purest specimen of Burton's overall vibe and aesthetic. Yes, it is so Burton. So if you don't happen to like Burton, then I guess it does amount to everything you'd hate. Sandworms, right? I hate 'em myself. The film has demons running all through it. But because it's pure Burton, there's no point in anyone else trying to do some god awful remake.

Fortunately, I have little aversion to Burton at his purest, and only really dislike the films he's been making this century which are far more compromised by commercial standards. (Big Fish and Big Eyes are OK, and Sweeny Todd ranks with his best.) I'll take ten Beetlejuices over the Wonderland skittle-vomit any day.

**Posted by Rock** 5/19/2023 7:37 pm

Jim Brown

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/former-nfl-star-jim-brown-has-died-associated-press-2023-05-19/

**Posted by Jinnistan** 5/19/2023 9:45 pm

**Posted by Jinnistan** 5/20/2023 7:52 am

Goddamn Youtube clips don't have what I want.

I've always said that the audio LP version of Sunset Strip, taped on an earlier date, is an all-around superior performance to the date filmed for the movie. For the Jim Brown bit, jump to about 5:50. "What's free about it?"

**Posted by Rock** 5/20/2023 2:48 pm

Martin Amis

https://amp.theguardian.com/books/2023/may/20/martin-amis-era-defining-british-novelist-dies-aged-73

**Posted by crumbsroom** 5/20/2023 4:02 pm

I've only read Amis'short work, but he would be one of the rare writers who came into being after the 70s I'd consider any good.

**Posted by Rock** 5/24/2023 11:11 am

Kenneth Anger

https://variety.com/2023/film/news/kenneth-anger-dies-fireworks-1235623957/amp/

**Posted by crumbsroom** 5/24/2023 11:51 am

One of the greatest. One of the ones responsible pushing cinema towards something purely impressionistic. Without guys like him, I don't know film would have found the vitality it needed to survive as a relevant artform (at least relevant to me)