michael o’keefe

Mike’s Murder OST – Joe Jackson

mikes_murder_artFound this used this week for 4 dollars.  Couldn’t resist.  A young and happy Debbie Winger, a guy I thought was Michael O’Keefe, a murder mystery with a Joe Jackson audio backdrop? Sign me up.

The soundtrack opener, “Cosmopolitan,” picks up where Wings’ “Live And Let Die,” left off, with an intro that nods to the stacatto breakdown (intrigue!) of Macca’s Bond song, before settling into a catchy yet paranoid Jackson tale, complete with a steamy sax solo.

“Memphis,” is something else entirely. It might literally be the organ part from Spencer Davis Group’s “Gimme Some Lovin'” (augmented by one note, to avoid a lawsuit) combined with the bass line of Jackson’s own “Steppin’ Out.”

Jackson flirts with some weirdness here, and that’s not a bad thing.

Cosmopolitan – Joe Jackson

Memphis – Joe Jackson

Loudon Wainwright III & Rebecca De Mornay – Hey Hey, My My (Neil Young)

Sluggers_CoverThe 80’s were unkind to many of our greats.

The Slugger’s Wife is a prime example of some super talented people getting sucked into the undertow of me-decade trends. Neil Simon, Caleb Deschanel, and the director Hal Ashby to name a few.

This vehicle makes me wish that Hal had battled through to the early 90’s, when indie film had it’s renaissance, and he could have had a revered late career surge ala Robert Altman.

Nonetheless, curiosity got the best of me when I saw this in the dollar bin (okay, two-dollar bin), and I started poring over the tracklist. I just had to hear Loudon Wainwright and Rebecca De Mornay’s version of Neil’s “Hey Hey, My My.”

Now I know.  Here it is, in all it’s tinny, reverb, programmed drum-fill glory.

Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black) – Loudon Wainwright III & Rebecca De Mornay