blackleatherbookshelf | Entries tagged with cult classics

Funhouse Mirrors,
4 Out Of 5 Stars

Given the raw and visceral sound of their debut, The Stooges had nowhere to go but up. Which is just what they did on their second album, "Fun House." Suddenly The Stooges were showing that they were capable of playing more than just fuzz-toned psychedelic punks and were proving that they could handle their instruments. It's like they wanted the album to have a sound, even if the band still sounded wound up and frantic to get their point across. Given the rage that fueled the debut, this is quite the coming out party.

It's not that The Stooges were in danger of being mistaken for a folk act. Iggy still howled, barked and grumbled like the wild child he was in those days, and the band wasn't beyond making an incoherent racket (the screamfest "LA Blues"). Here were riffs that were ready made to scream over, or as the liner notes describe, create instant mayhem. The opening cry of "TV Eye" (still an Iggy best of) is followed by a riff so primal that it makes you guess that Johnny Ramone got some of his earliest lessons from this album. Same with "1970," the year after "1969" appeared on the first album.

It was obvious that The Stooges were aiming higher, complete with a sax on the title track, another lengthy psych-out that has Iggy mirroring Jim Morrison. (The whole original side two is akin to the acid drenched rock of the time, less punky and more freaky.) For an album this manic, it's remarkably well produced by Don Gallucci. For comparison, listen to the into-the-red recording of "Raw Power." Ron Ashton's guitar tears through the clutter with razor like clarity, and Iggy, who recorded his vocals live with a handheld microphone so he could make the livest recording possible, is all coiled energy, improvised shouts and hand claps.

Nothing sounded like it then, and there's still little that matches it today. The debut may win the battle for better album just for its sheer audacity, but on "Fun House," The Stooges - as Iggy sang on the title track - came to play.

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A Good Fit
4 Out Of 5 Stars

This low budget gay classic has just the right touches of drama, humor and camp to be endearing and memorable. "Leather Jacket Love Story" was shot in 10 days in and around the Silverlake area of Los Angeles, as wanna-be poet Kyle tries to escape the pretensions of West Hollywood, and falls for dark and sexy construction worker Mike. Kyle is a awkward twink, Mike is a weathered older 30 something with the experience Kyle lacks.

The opposites attract almost immediately, and the sparks do fly. In particular, Christopher Bradley (as Mike) is charismatic and lights up everything he does. There are several nude love scenes, for those who buy "Gay Movies" based solely on body-part count, but Mike and Kyle give convincing fling. But can love bind two men so many worlds apart from each other? Hey, this is a gay fairy tale, complete with drag queens, sunny skies, packed leather bars (Los Angeles' notorious Faultline) and little capital D Drama. When the gay bashers inevitably show up, they get whupped in more a funny manner than anything else. The low budget soundtrack even tips its hat to the tacky sounds of 50's sitcoms.

"Leather Jacket Love Story" is a feel good movie and will give you plenty of smiles. I found it surprising that, in a very tiny way, I had a small part in the film. When Mike and Kyle head into a store to buy Kyle's first leather jacket, there are magazines on the background wall. To the left of the screen, ever so briefly, a copy of the eighth volume of "Rubber Rebel" magazine can be seen, a publication I edited and produced in 1996. It was a pleasant surprise and endeared "Leather Jacket Love Story" to me all the more.