Rep Discoveries: 2013

Michel Constantin essays the "Parker" role in Alain Cavalier's Mise a Sac (aka Pillaged aka Midnight Raid), an adaptation of Richard Stark's (aka Donald E. Westlake) The Score.

My good friend Rupert is once again in the midst of another fun series of lists, this time focusing on "best repertory discoveries" of 2013. He's just published my list here.  Thank you again, my friend.

12 For 12

Another year, another year-end list for Rupe.

Now, I hope that the Warner Archive delivers on that DVD of Lolly-Madonna XXX (aka The Lolly-Madonna War) they told me they are "working on."

Previous lists here and here.

VHS Gems at Rupert Pupkin Speaks!

Rupe was kind enough to offer me a spot in his "VHS Gems" series.  I tried to keep my list to a reasonable number...you can check it out here.

Rupert Pupkin Presents "Bad Movies We Love"

My old friend Rupe was good enough to invite me to participate in his "Bad Movies We Love" series.  I told him I'm not totally enamored of that school of thought, but I offered to do something on a flawed,  perhaps "incoherent text" that I'm quite fond of:

Soundtrack Jukebox Vol. 2

Once again inspired by my good friend Rupert Pupkin, here are some more tunes sourced from soundtrack LPs and / or used prominently in a particular film, this time mostly from the '80s. There are a few hits here, but most, again, fall under the "cult" label.

In no particular order (shuffling is encouraged):
1. "Same Old Scene" - Roxy Music, Times Square
2. "Prisoner" - Barbra Streisand, The Eyes of Laura Mars
3. "We Got the Beat" - The Go-Go's, Fast Times at Ridgemont High
4. "The Dream (Hold On To Your Dream)" - Irene Cara, D.C. Cab (Giorgio Moroder)
5. "Lorelei" - Nina Hagen, The Year of the Jellyfish
6. "This is Not America" - David Bowie, The Falcon and the Snowman (Pat Matheny / Lyle Mays)
7. "Superstar" - T-Connection, Bad Boys (1983)
8. "The Edge of Forever" - The Dream Academy, Ferris Bueller's Day Off
9. "Tenderness" - General Public, Weird Science
10. "Eyes of a Stranger" - Payola$, Valley Girl
11. "Angel's Song" - Deborah Harry, Rock & Rule
12. "Running Scared" - Fee Waybill, Running Scared (1986)
13. "The Last Unicorn" - America, The Last Unicorn (Jimmy Webb)
14. "Change" - John Waite, Vision Quest
15. "Street Life" - The Crusaders with Randy Crawford, Sharky's Machine
16. "Rosalinda's Eyes" - Billy Joel, Personal Best
17. "How Do I Let You Know" - Phoebe Cates, Private School
18. "The Wild Life" - Bananarama, The Wild Life
19. "Turn to the Sky" - The March Violets, Some Kind of Wonderful
20. "Revenge of the Nerds" - The Rubinoos, Revenge of the Nerds
21. "Holiday Road" - Lindsay Buckingham, Vacation
22. "Veteran of the Psychic Wars" - Blue Oyster Cult, Heavy Metal
23. "Theme from the Heartbreak Kid" - Bill Dean, The Heartbreak Kid
24. "Lady, Lady, Lady" - Joe "Bean" Esposito, Flashdance (Giorgio Moroder)
25. "It's a Long Road" - Dan Hill, First Blood (Jerry Goldsmith)
26. "All Time High" - Rita Coolidge, Octopussy (John Barry)
27. "Together in Electric Dreams" - Philip Oakey, Electric Dreams (Giorgio Moroder)
28. "Better Luck Next Time" - Oingo Boingo, The Last American Virgin
29. "Hang Up the Phone" - Annie Golden, Sixteen Candles
30. "Where Do I Go From Here" - Paul Williams, Thunderbolt & Lightfoot
31. "Looker" - Sue Saad, Looker (Barry DeVorzon)
32. "Your Love" - Lime, Summer Lovers
33. "The Ride" - Matches, The Karate Kid (1984)
34. "This Side of Forever" - Roberta Flack, Sudden Impact
35. "Brand New Day" - Danny Hutton, American Flyers
36. "All the Right Moves" - Jennifer Warnes & Chris Thompson, All the Right Moves
37. "Lover" - Roxy Music, Miami Vice II

Soundtrack Jukebox Vol. 1

Inspired by my compadre, Rupert, I've put together a mix of favorite songs written for, or strongly associated with, a particular film. In some cases, the song was released on a proper LP at or around the same time as the film it was used in. So as to retain some semblance of focus, I am not including score tracks...that is for another set of jukebox selections. These are mostly songs that were not in regular radio rotation and, if they were, they have not transitioned into "oldies" or "classic rock" playlists. I have many favorites that were and remain big hits, but am eschewing those here in favor of some "cult" favorites.

I have listed prominent composers where they had a role in writing the tune and the original composer / artists in the case of a cover version.

In no particular order (feel free to shuffle):

1. "Drifting and Dreaming" - Valerie Carter, White Line Fever
2. "I Am the Future" - Alice Cooper, Class of 1984 (Lalo Schifrin)
3. "But I Might Die Tonight" - Cat Stevens, Deep End
4. "The Good Times Are Comin'" - Mama Cass, Monte Walsh (John Barry)
5. "Cosmopolitan" - Joe Jackson, Mike's Murder
6. "Heavy Metal (Takin' a Ride)" - Don Felder, Heavy Metal
7. "Night Shift" - Quarterflash, Night Shift (Burt Bacharach)
8. "Number One" - Chaz Jankel, Real Genius
9. "Help Me Make It Through the Night" - Kris Kristofferson, Fat City
10. "In the City" - Joe Walsh, The Warriors
11. "Loco De Amor (Crazy For Love)" - David Byrne y Celia Cruz, Something Wild
12. "Phantom's Theme (Beauty and the Beast)" - Paul Williams, Phantom of the Paradise
13. "Goodbye Horses" - Q. Lazzarus, Married to the Mob / The Silence of the Lambs
14. "Why Is It So Hard?" - Talk Talk, Firstborn
15. "They Won't Get Me" - Roger Miller, Superman III (Giorgio Moroder)
16. "Johnny and Mary" - Tina Turner, Summer Lovers (Robert Palmer)
17. "This Day Belongs to Me" - Seals & Crofts, One on One (Charles Fox / Paul Williams)
18. "Gold" - Jimmy Helms, Gold (Elmer Bernstein)
19. "Thank God It's Friday" - Love and Kisses, Thank God It's Friday
20. "Deep Down" - Christy, Danger: Diabolik (Ennio Morricone)
21. "To Live and Die in L.A." - Wang Chung, To Live and Die in L.A.
22. "Love Kills" - Freddie Mercury, Metropolis (Giorgio Moroder)
23. "It's So Easy" - Willy DeVille, Cruising
24. "Thief of Hearts" - Melissa Manchester, Thief of Hearts (Giorgio Moroder)
25. "Tonight Is What It Means to Be Young" - Fire, Inc., Streets of Fire (Jim Steinman)
26. "Turn Out the Night" - Amy Holland, Scarface (Giorgio Moroder)
27. "Sex Crime (Nineteen Eighty-Four)" - Eurythmics, 1984
28. "Argomenti (The Burglars)" - Astrud Gilberto, The Burglars (Ennio Morricone)
29. "Surrender" - Cheap Trick, Over the Edge
30. "Bit By Bit" - Stephanie Mills, Fletch (Harold Faltermeyer)
31. "Blue Balloon (The Hourglass Song)" - Robby Benson, Jeremy (Joseph Brooks)
32. "Cat People (Putting Out Fire)" - David Bowie, Cat People (Giorgio Moroder)

For Rupert...