Nilsson - C or D?

this was pretty good, usual failings of low-budget rock docs aside

Owen Wilson as Nilsson

― assorted curses (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, January 7, 2011 6:33 PM (2 months ago)

C'mon, Owen can't sing. Glen Hansard might be good fit, that is, if he could stop trying so hard to impress.

btw does anyone know what the deal is with this Midnight Cowboy song that Joni apparently wrote for the movie?

this was pretty good, usual failings of low-budget rock docs aside
Yeah, I don't think it failed on that much. For an obsessive like myself, there was a lot to chew on there.

btw does anyone know what the deal is with this Midnight Cowboy song that Joni apparently wrote for the movie?

Not totally sure. Thing is, I'm not sure she "wrote it for the movie" as Dylan's song is "Lay Lady Lay" which, IIRC, he had written well before Midnight Cowboy.

i think they asked dylan to write a song for the movie and he said yes, but he took to long to deliver "lay lady lay" to the filmmakers. or something. dunno about joni's song.

has the doc been shown in US cinemas or was it on TV?

it's on netflix watch instantly...

ah is that free? (netflix virgin here)

I rented a DVD. and yeah I don't think it failed that much it's just like... eh y'know ooh more talking heads and photo-montages! which is what most rock docs are composed of, especially when the subject is dead.

netflix instant is free ... if you have a netflix subscription.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dswVK5si45M&feature=related

"someday in combat it might save your life"

Got the doc dvd in my latest batch of Borders clearance stuff. Finished w/the film a little while ago, haven't dug into the xtras yet, but noticed some missing things:

-His apprenticeship w/Spector. Admittedly Phil probably wasn't available, and perhaps the filmmakers felt the craziness quota was already filled.

-The late 70s records were only briefly touched upon. There's a good story about he tried to appease RCA w/That's The Way It Is and when it failed Harry sort of got his shit together and made Knnillsson only to see it more or less go OOP right away when Elvis died and RCA switched all their plants over to pressing Elvis albums and singles. That action became a severe bone of contention between them and helped finish Harry off at the label.

-No mention of "The Courtship of Eddie's Father" (aside from "Best Friend" soundtracking the Ringo montage).

But on the whole I guess it was okay, despite the flaws (the death thing was seriously WTF? Almost like the filmmakers figured the viewer already knew the real story). Seemed like a long ep of "Behind The Music" or (better still) "American Masters"--not necessarily something you'd shell 10 bucks for to see at a theatre.

Would love to see a comp of those BBC specials with those album ads thrown in in the extras. And it was cool to hear one of the Popeye demos on the soundtrack (how great is that segment of Van Dyke where he just plays the song on the piano?).

The whole Mark Hudson discussion reminded me of
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngIxuGOVGeQ

hahahahaha

for the love of Harry says the Skidoo! dvd is coming (for real this time) in July. And amazon has it.

OK, so Bob Stanley had a screening of the documentary in Camden on Sat'day afternon and three men and a dog (possibly Arrow) showed up, eventually they let me and few other people (i.e. like proper Harry Nilsson fans) in for nothing. Of course if it had been about Nick Drake or Jeff Buckley or someone they'd have been queues round the block. Re: the film, felt sad for Rick Jarrard that Harry dumped him, but more fool Harry because he did his best work with Jarrard + George Tipton IMO.

Hey, in one of the deleted scenes, they actually explain Rainbow Beard's significance to the story-he produced Harry's last sessions at his home studio. There's pix too, AND RAINBOW BEARD LOOKED LIKE A REGULAR OLD ROCKER DUDE. WHAT POSSESSED HIM SINCE THEN TO GO FULL RAINBOW?

-His apprenticeship w/Spector.

yeah I thought this was a weird omission too. I wouldn't expect them to get Spector on film or anything, but to not even mention it seemed sort of odd.

wow where was this Bob Stanley screening? is it out on DVD yet? was it on telly in the States?

(xp) Talking of weird omissions, the fact that Harry's mother was a songwriter too would seem worthy of comment - after all, he did cover two of her songs on his albums!

woah, totally - didn't know that. Would have helped smooth over the film's transition from poverished gutter kid to writer of Stephen Foster melodies.

Indeed, she wrote, or at least partly wrote, "Little Cowboy" and "Marchin' Down Broadway" (latter seem obvious once you know)

you know I really don't get Nilsson - everyone says he's such a genius. To me every song sounds like his Randy Newman meets Any Gibb

This is only a problem if it makes you feel inferior somehow. If not, there are 90-bajillion other things to listen to.

every song sounds like his Randy Newman meets Any Gibb
exactly! sort of!

You gotta find the shit with the dopest arrangements. I suggest reviewing the soundtrack to "The Point" on headphones.

He has the most beautiful voice. He's like the male Karen Carpenter.

whole bbc doc is on youtube

here's part 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaHWCPFP04o

lol not doc but uh (famous) performance

It doesnt make mee feel inferior so much as like "wait, the emperor is not wearing any clothes!" I watched "WHo is Harry Nilsson" - they were talking about Nilsson Schmilsson like it was freaking Abbey Road. "Lime in the Cocoanut" - wtf??

its just music man no revelations are really there to be had

thats what you think!

I suggest buying Nilsson Schmilsson or Son Of. Otherwise have a nice life.

nilsson sings newman is the one that sent me over the edge into nilsson superfandom.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zS-jue4Yqt0

This song is so simple & beautiful + he is a freaking Dracula on the cover. These two things together sum up Nilsson for me!

To me every song sounds like his Randy Newman meets Any Gibb

That's why we like him. You see?

> "Lime in the Cocoanut" - wtf??

I have the same reaction, but I suppose for different reasons...oh, and I guess I had that reaction back when I was three-years-old for an entirely different reaction. Whoa!

I'm not actually a big "Coconut" fan and think Schmilsson's overrated - check out Pussy Cats. Though thinking "the emperor's not wearing any clothes" is pretty easy when watching a documentary on any rock musician.

It's funny, I hated Dylan for years because of all the "genius" talk, would make glib cracks about his ugly voice - could totally see someone doing the same with Nilsson except making glib cracks about his pretty voice. Listen to it AS lightweight andy gibb music and you'll pick up the smarts. Listen to it for genius and yeah, it's lightweight. Dude was devoted to lightweight.

OTM. Genius at lightweight. If you wanna stroke yer chin and furrow yer brow, look elsewhere.

Nilsson's best virtue is that he made several Love and Theft-type comedy records.

In Nilsson's case, I think "lightweight" is an apt complement.

Watching the doc last week I realized that "Schmilsson" was one of the handful of rock LPs my dad owned. I had this sudden memory explosion of "Coconut" (with added Muppet memories) and the drums in "Jump into the Fire" being a jump around the living room soundtrack.

Happy 70th.

+1

Why +1?

As in, "I also wish him Happy 70th."

Ah, thought you meant he was 71. But then everybody knows that in 1941 a happy father had a son.

That docu is going to be on the BBC next week.

it's not bad. the Spector stuff seems like the main glaring ommission

You could make a whole 'nother film from all the deleted scenes. Jimmy Webb had some stories man...