Status Quo Sunday and The Cruisers

So between job hunting and visiting some friends in Miami this weekend, very little progress on Status Quo Radio has been made. HOWEVER, while I've added nothing to the file, I've got the main riffs down, and really, that's the hard part for me. The other hard part is the lyrics.

Words and music my friends, words and music.



That's what I like about you, 'cause I love that dirty water, oh Boston, you're my-

Oh.Ohhhhh...

Can I talk about this movie for a second?

"Eddie and the Crusiers" I put into the same category as "Kung Pow: Enter The Fist" as a movie that I know is not technically great (it doesn't know whether or not to be a mystery or a drama, the former of which it gives away in the beginning, the latter hampered by the fact that it has to server the former), I still love. "Eddie and the Cruisers"'s main strength lies in the music, done by John Cafferty and the Brown Beaver Band.

The film is about two different stories, one told in real time, and one told in flashbacks: the present day story concerns a television reporter named Maggie Foley (Ellen Barkin) investigating the mysterious death of musician Eddie Wilson (Michael Paré) and the search for his band's second album, which disappeared from the vaults of Satin Records the day after Eddie's alleged death. Maggie goes to the band's "Wordman", Frank Ridgeway (Tom Berenger) to recount his memories of the band.

It's interesting how a rocker type like Eddie rejects playing at a university, but takes a liking to the book smart Frank, and the relationship between the two works without resorting to the cliche "HEY I LEARNED A THING FROM YOU AND YOU LEARNED A THING FROM ME".

The cinematorgraphy in this is also great, with shots that keep the mystery and tension of a scene going for as long as possible, as well as hinting at certain things, like the camera panning down from one scene to the next one where the band is recording a second album, called "Season In Hell" (CUZ IT'S LIKE HELL U GET IT?)

While despite the fact that it takes place in the 1960's, the sound they chose for The Cruisers sounds a lot like Bruce Springsteen. It's cool, if a little inaccurate, but the movie takes great pains to mention that their sound was ahead of their time.

Like I mentioned before, the story goes to crap in the last 20 minutes where the characters completely change motives, and all this intrigue gives way to a "mega happy ending" that would make "The Dark Knight Rises" roll its eyes. Regardless, with a catchy soundtrack, and an intriguing setup (at least for the first hour), I'd recommend it!