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DrDanielLee
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Name: Daniel
Country: United States
State: Mississippi
Metro: Tupelo
Gender: Male
Interests: Retro, horror movies, sci-fi, Dark Tower, Star Wars, Trek, Elvis, costuming, collecting, fighting arts, guns, pro-wrestling, 50s, 80s, comics, Johnny Cash, videogaming, retro-games, Atari, punk, rockabilly, goth, old-school hip hop, classic country, bluegrass, antiques, hearses, classic cars
Expertise: Axe grinding, Stratocasting, twanging, shootin, gaming, singing, breakdancing, creating, joking, filmmaking.
Occupation: Artist
Industry: Entertainment
Message: message me
Website: visit my website
Member Since:
5/10/2005
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| My latest (and greatest) short film, The Picture, is now up on YouTube.
It's a silent film, and I'm pretty proud of it.
It's divided into two parts due to large filesize. Enjoy!
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| This may be utterly pointless as nobody seems to actually use Xanga anymore.
Including me.
But anyways, I started making short films.
http://youtube.com/suicidekingfilms
There's one old music video up, and two little comedy shorts.
I got a more serious artistic attempt at filmmaking that's going up friday.
It'll be in two parts because there's a filesize limit. That's the only reason it's not already up.
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| So as you probably already know, one of my songs was picked up for a movie soundtrack a year ago. IT CAME FROM TRAFALGAR
Over time, I've become pretty good friends with the
director. He was nice enough to offer me a part in the movie on
his last day of shooting. So I made a roadtrip for that weekend
and drove up to Indiana where he's shooting this badboy, and got a
death scene. One that promises to be gory after the effects guy
does his job.
Scottular, April and Clifford also got to play extras. It was
fun, but cold, and there was a lot of waiting around for Solomon to
make up his mind/rewrite stuff/get ready. For me, it was
definitely worth going. It's always been my dream to be in
movies, and now that dream has come true.
The movie stars Hank III, Butch Patrick, Gunnar Hansen, Ed Neal, Brinke
Stevens, Joey Image, Linnea Quigley, DOLEMITE!, Bill Hinzman (the
original zombie from Night of the Living Dead) and a zillion other
people.
Wow. Not a bad cast to make my "acting" (if you wanna call it that) debut among.
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| Dr. Daniel & The Rockabilly Vampires (featuring The Bloodlettes)
and The Blue Nowhere will be opening for the Independents in Pontotoc,
MS - Thursday sept. 14th.
All ages, $8 at the door.
I'd kick a square's ass in a minute for ya!
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| Well after listening to the new Cash cd for weeks, I think I'm ready to put my official opinion of it on the record.
"A tiger sensing the end of his life is at his most fierce."
Obviously, it's good. In fact, it's awesomely good. That notwithstanding, I don't feel it was as strong a record as the last two. I can't compare it to American Recordings or Unchained because they're too different. It's like apples and oranges. But American V was done in one long unending recording period that started with American III: The Solitary Man. Essentially, III, IV, and V almost represent a single record. Thus I can only really compare it to the last two.
A Hundred Highways lacks the dynamics and power of The Man Comes Around. And it loses something from a lack of guest spots/duets. It's a much more subtle record.
Such a minor step-down from previous efforts is easily forgivable however, considering that The Man himself, Johnny Cash was literally dying as this record was made. In fact, he died before he could finish it. Thus, "My Lord Has Gone" will never be heard and who knows how many other songs he could have written that would have made it onto the record, given enough time to finish it.
Ultimately, one of the most telling things about John's talent was the fact that on his deathbed, he was producing music that's just lightyears better than hundreds of other artists and bands who are actually at their peak now! This is probably one of the best records that's been and will be released all year.
I may be a little biased though as I really hate the direction contemporary, popular music has gone in the last couple years. I may be just too old-school and Cash was the last and only bridge between mainstream modern rock and old world folk music.
I'll give my thoughts on the songs, track by track:
1. Help Me - Although Larry Gatlin's lyrics are great and they have a painful relevance when John sings them, begging God for help... I just don't really like this song. It just sounds a little too... I dunno. It sounds too stock.
2. God's Gonna Cut You Down - This is probably my favorite on the record. If "The Man Comes Around" served as an end-of-the-world prophecy, then this song serves as Cash's final exiting warning to those who do evil. For the final time, John steps into the role of a prophet to belt out an ominous threat. John is not kidding around. He means business on this track, and true to form, the message is direct and simple.
3. Like the 309 - John has done countless train songs in his career (my favorite being Wreck of the Old 97), and there's a couple more on this album. The Cash-penned 309 is a definite winner! This song is energetic, catchy, great and also one of my favorites. I understand this was actually the last song John recorded.
4. If You Could Read My Mind - Upon hearing that trademark breezy guitar part from this song by the odiously lightwieight Gordon Lightfoot, I actually busted out laughing. Lightfoot is one of those artists that should be relegated to elevators and department store sound systems right next to Christopher Cross. But with John doing a cover, Gordon has never sounded better. And the impossible has happened. I actually like a Gordon Lightfoot song! Cash is a miracle worker!
5. Further On Up The Road - This song is fucking awesome. Great delivery, great mood, great lyrics. It's my second fav on the record and I understand it's been released as the album's first single. A song by The Boss, Bruce Springsteen... Cash might just earn himself YET ANOTHER Grammy for this one.
6. The Evening Train - Nobody but nobody is Hank. But nobody but nobody is also Johnny Cash. When Cash does Hank, it's the collision of two worlds of awesome. This song makes me cry because I know it's about June. With the relevancy of the lyrics, it downright jerks the heartstrings right out of my chest. "Its hard to know she's gone forever."
7. I Came To Believe - the record's only other Cash-written tune... it's a classic old-school slow gospel format. Cash's usual testimony of faith. Although I usually enjoy when Cash does gospel, this is not one of my favorites.
8. Love's Been Good To Me - I can't think of anything else to say other than I like this song, and can relate.
9. A Legend In My Time - I have always HATED this song. And not even John can save it for me. Dud.
10. Rose Of My Heart - I love this song. The lyrics are so perfectly simple. A blunt statement of love that lacks the melodrama and vocal hysterics of every other artists' usual syrupy love shlock. The best way to say I Love You is usually to just say it. This song does a great job of that. The sincerity of John's delivery actually makes me cry.
11. Four Strong Winds - I like it. Some people just can't stay still and feel the winds of change pulling them to some other distant location. This is a good wandering or traveling song.
12. I'm Free From The Chain Gang Now - Cash's final prisoner song, and the closer on this record. Out of the songs that made it onto this record, this one is the ideal one to close it. As is par for the course with John, the lyrics are poetically simple. And there's really something beautiful about the freedom and release of it. Its as if all Cash's prisoner characters have reincarnated into this final one who has done what all of them could not. He became free!
And of course, the song really transcends the simple narrative and becomes metaphor for Cash as prisoner of the flesh being released from this awful world into a far better place.
The eternal Cash-prisoner finally being released from captivity is so moving, that this song makes me cry every time.
I love this album. I cannot recommend this record enough. Go out and buy, download, copy, beg, or steal it any way you can!
"There were tears on the mail Mother sent me in jail, but I'm free from the chain gang now." | | |
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