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FYI

The Beautiful Tragedy Known As Warren Zevon

Zevon’s only real hit was Werewolves of London; a novelty song, yet it displayed his morbid sense of humour, a strong line in narrative and imagery and a beautiful gift of melody.

The Beautiful Tragedy Known As Warren Zevon

By External Source

... (Warren) Zevon needed friends because among all the creativity, was a wrecking ball of destruction and addiction, which eventually led to rehab, getting clean and a song, of course, Detox Mansion.


He was equally at home writing observational pieces as well as personal. He was a writer who sung the story. With just an opening line, you were hooked:

‘’Grandpa pissed his pants again”

And then:

“He don’t give a damn
Brother Billy has both guns drawn
He ain’t been right since Vietnam.

“Sweet home Alabama”
Play that dead band’s song
Turn those speakers up full blast
Play it all night long.

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“Daddy’s doing Sister Sally
Grandma’s dying of cancer now
The cattle all have brucellosis
We’ll get through somehow.”

A particular joy of his work is hearing words that have never, you can safely bet, been rarely used in song: As in his scathing portrayal of Elvis Presley:

“Hip-shakin’ shoutin’ in gold lame/
That’s how he earned his regal sobriquet …

“Left behind by the latest trends
Eatin’ friend chicken with his regicidal friends.”

Carl Hiaasen said that the “most intimidating thing about him was the breadth of his intellect. A prodigious reader, he could talk knowledgeably about Marcel Proust, Thomas Mann or Mickey Spillane, all in the same conversation. Likewise, a casual chat about music could carom from Radiohead to Brian Wilson to Shostakovich, at which point all I could do was nod and pretend I understood what the hell he was talking about”.

– Excerpted from Warren Zevon: Time Stands Still by Warwick McFadyden and published in theDaily Review

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Charles Officer
Petr Novák, Wikipedia

Charles Officer

Culture

Award-Winning Canadian Director Charles Officer Has Died

The celebrated Toronto filmmaker and director of K’naan’s “Strugglin'” video died after an illness.

Canadian filmmaker Charles Officer, known for his work on CBC show The Porter and features like Akilla's Escape, died on Dec. 1 after an illness. He was 48. The director and writer was celebrated for his work in a range of forms, including scripted television, documentary, and even an early music video for Somali-Canadian artist K'naan. He directed four out of eight episodes of the acclaimed series The Porter, which tells the story of railway workers in the 1920s who formed North America’s first Black union. The Porter won ten Canadian Screen Awards this year, with Officer winning Best Direction.

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