The Beet Seeking Missile's Top 4 Music movies of 2013

In 2013, I saw four really amazing movies that had music at their core. If you haven't seen them, give 'em a whirl when you get a chance.

1. "20 feet from stardom"-If you've never heard of Merry Clayton or Darlene Love, chances are you're like the rest of us. But once you discover that you've forever sang along to their vocals on many of the famous songs they've been a part of, you'll be fascinated. In this documentary, the lives of several in-demand backup singers are examined in-depth, through interviews and performances.These are women of extraordinary talent who are in high demand as backups, but some have bigger dreams that may or may not ever be fulfilled.

1. (Tie). "Sound City"-Another fascinating music documentary. This one is about the rich history of a studio in Van Nuys that artists gravitated towards for years because it had one of the best custom analog sound boards in the nation. The Neve console is one of the main characters in this great documentary, directed by Dave Grohl of Nirvana/Foo Fighters fame. "It's mathematically crisp and very solid. It's like a tank," says Neil Young. When digital recording dried up business, Grohl intervened and saved the board he loves so much. Prior to this, the story is told in a chronological narrative that  highlights some of the more interesting careers that have intersected with the board in Sound City, including Rick Springfield, Rage Against the Machine and Fleetwood Mac. You'll be amazed at how many albums that you own were recorded on the Neve.

2. (Song for Marion) Unfinished Song-An endearing British story about doting, but grumpy Arthur (Terence Stamp-General Zod from Superman 2), a devoted husband who takes his ailing wife (Vanessa Redgrave) to the local community center every week to sing in a senior choir. The twist is that the young choir director (Gemma Arterton) teaches these folks songs like Salt N Pepa's "Let's talk about sex" and Motorhead's "Ace of Spades." Arthur is reluctant to participate, but when Marion's health takes a turn, he rediscovers his love for music. Stamp's best performance since he played Ralph/Bernadette in  "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert."

3. Place beyond the pines-This isn't a movie about music per se, but it's the debut soundtrack by Mike Patton (Mr. Bungle, Tomahawk). Patton pens a few moody originals including "The weight of consequences,"  and "Contrapositive. " However, he shines with the array of classics he selects, which include a Burt Bacharach tune and a number by Ennio Morricone, whom he honored on the great Fantomas album Directors Cut. The movie itself is the tale of a circus motorcycle stunt rider (Ryan Gosling in a great bad boy performance) who becomes a bank robber and the cop (Bradley Cooper) with whom his life intertwines. Ray Liotta is disturbing in a supporting role as a bad cop. He plays Hall and Oates "Maneater" on his car stereo to get in the mood for malice.

Whatever you do--Don't play Hall and Oates on the jukebox!

Could an innocuous ballad from an early 70's album incite barroom violence?

On a recent Friday night, a friend and I sought out a holiday pint or two. We went to a local tavern called Hilltop and ordered up a Mermaid's Red, a tasty red by the Coronado. By the time we were ready for a another great San Diego offering called Green Flash, we had had our fill of the contemptible music blaring out of the joint's jukebox.
So, the Beet Seeking Missile took the initiative and attempted to remedy the situation. Not the biggest fan of the current jukebox choices, which ranged from Nu Country to Kid Rock to today's big Rap Hits, I selected a brief, but wide-range of favorites that caught my fancy-the songs ranged from Primus' "My name is Mud" to Talib Kweli's "Hot Thang" to finally, "Abandoned Luncheonette" a rare old gem by Hall and Oates, who are favorites of my drinking buddy Juba.
With these newfangled digital jukeboxes, the upcoming que is displayed and it showed that my choices were plagued to stew behind more of aforementioned tortuous tunes.
I shared my frustration with a guy in a Dodgers hat who was sitting with his girlfriend and then innocently I followed up with the question. "So what do you listen to?"
The Dodger hat guy looked at me and said, "Nu Country and Kid Rock, kind of what like is playing right now.""
"Oh," I replied, when I could see that that he was serious, "I hear the ratio of women to men at a Kid Rock show is similar to that of women to men in Caracas, Venezuela." The guy and his girl got a chuckle out of that and then we proceeded to talk about baseball while I impatiently waited for my tunes to play.
During this interim, a pair of guys hovered near the bar in separate factions. The first guy, who looked a little too happy, was sitting with a couple and their female friend, who firmly insisted, "He's not with me" when I inquired. The other guy gave off an agitated vibe when he ordered from the bar on my other side.
As if by some divine intervention, Kid Rock's "Redneck Paradise" finally ended and on cue came Primus. Naturally, I did a dance/mosh of joy through the patrons, which was followed by a little head-nodding when Kweli played. Juba was surprised by the Hall and Oates choice and started singing the song at the bar, when, all of sudden, the guy who wasn't with the people at the bar and the agitated guy were nose-to-nose in the middle of the place. The guy who wasn't with the people says something in a sinister whisper to the agitated guy and before the Hall and Oates song can get to the second chorus, SMASH the agitated guy cracks a beer glass over the other guy's head. He drops to the ground. The bouncer promptly 86's the agitated guy (a regular) and I help up the guy who got cracked across the skull. No blood, just wounded pride. He too is quicky 86'd by the bouncer.
Just goes to show you that you gotta be careful where you play Hall and Oates on a jukebox.