I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: PEARL JAM-Ten Revisited [VH1] (2009).

This 30 minute special about Pearl Jam’s Ten album (or more specifically about the remastered edition) was a fine few moments of TV nostalgia. The most interesting nugget of information was that the “Jeremy” video originally contained a scene of the boy putting a gun in his mouth.  That was cut prior to airing.  (Although they show the footage in the special).

I wish that the show explained the band’s decision to actually make a video for “Jeremy” since they showed several earlier interview clips about why they chose not to make videos originally.  They okayed live clips for airing.  But that issue is never addressed.

The other really fun thing about the show was seeing the insane hats that Jeff Ament used to wear.  It seems like a fetish, with the crazy assortment he used to sport.  I either never paid attention at the time, or I didn’t think much of it given the sartorial choice of the rest of the band.  Since they are much less adventuresome clothing-wise these days, his hats really stand out in the old video clips.

It’s nothing earth shattering, but there are definitely some good scenes and concert clips.  And, it’s also fun to see how young (and long-haired) the band was all those years ago.

[READ: January 20, 2010] “Udder Madness”

After having just besmirched the nature of the New Yorker Shouts & Murmurs section, I get to retract my complaint because of this really funny piece by Woody Allen.

Many of the Shouts & Murmurs pieces run out of steam long before the story comes to an end.  It must be hard to maintain an often thin concept for two pages.   This one, on the other hand is longer than most and is a wonderfully detailed story with many layers.

The premise is taken from a humorous new story that 20 people a year are killed by cows, and that “in at least one case, the animal attacked from behind.”  Allen takes this last sentence and constructs a very funny story in which a cow plots the demise of an insufferable prat.

But rather than just having an angry cow, he constructs a fully realized absurdist premise (and avoids any mad cow jokes.  The title of the piece, I have to assume was dreamed up by someone else).  This cow is a culture lover, with very high regard for fine arts.  (Allen even makes a joke referencing Crimes and Misdemeanors that someone at the party doesn’t know the difference between Schubert and Schumann).

The cow lives on a New Jersey [the best farms there are –ed.] farm that is tended by a cultured family who invite special film stars and directors, musicians, the fabulous glitterati to their multiacred estate for weekends of fun.  One fateful day they invite a triple threat: a writer/director/actor.  He turns out to be gauche, opinionated and simply unpleasant.   (And who looks and sounds a lot like Allen himself).

The auteur insults everyone on the premises, and the cow plots to make the world a better place by relieving it of this homunculus.  All of the guests go for a nature walk, but the man refuses so he can check his latest film’s grosses (I loved this line): “which Variety had said would have limited appeal and suggested should open in Atlantis.”

The story would be amusing even if the plotter were a person (the references, the details they’re all very amusing).  But when you make the killer a cow,  filled with amusing bovine details, it is quite something.

I’m glad Woody’s still got it.  And it’s available here.