Pet Sematary and the Ramones

Stephen King AC/DC

Iron Maiden - Fear of the Dark - Stephen King's IT

The Stephen King Song

Chronicling All Of The Music From The DARK TOWER Series

Ria Misra has posted a great article that lists every song in the Dark Tower book series.  Check it out at io9.com

Here's a sample -- from book 2, The Drawing Of The Three:

• "Just A Gigolo/Ain't Got Nobody" - David Lee Roth (p. 93)
• "Bridge Over Troubled Water" - Simon and Garfunkel (p. 112)
• [Unknown Billie Holiday Song] - Billie Holiday (p. 123)
• "Boy Named Sue" & "Folsom Prison Blues" - Johnny Cash (p. 124)
• "People" - Barbara Streisand (p. 170)
• "Pink Shoe Laces" - Dodie Stevens (p. 196)
• "Take the 'A' Train" - Duke Ellington (p. 215)
• "Oxford Town" - Bob Dylan (p. 236-8)
• "Twilight Time" - The Platters (p. 295)

Dedication To Doctor Sleep

Do you pay much attention to book dedications?  Sometimes I do.  But King often dedicates to people  that I have no idea who they are.  His dedication unfortunately does not stir any need on my part to rush out and discover who these people are.  I liked the dedication to Tabby at the beginning of The Stand.  And he once dedicated a story to his brother David, and I liked that.  But I am usually in such a hurry to get into the book that the dedication is just something to skim by.

Steve Newton at Vancouver'sstraight.com was pretty excited about the dedication to Warren Zevon in Doctor Sleep.

Newton wrote,

 I got a kick out of the horror master’s dedication of the book. He sent it out to singer-songwriter Warren Zevon, who I’ve always felt was one of the most underrated rockers of all time. 

How cool is that?

When I was playing my primitive brand of rhythm guitar with a group called the Rock Bottom Remainders, Warren Zevon used to gig with us. Warren loved gray t-shirts and movies like Kingdom of the Spiders. He insisted I sing lead on his signature tune, “Werewolves of London”, during the encore portion of our shows. I said I was not worthy. He insisted that I was. “Key of G,” Warren told me, “and howl like you mean it. Most important of all, play like Keith.” I’ll never be able to play like Keith Richards, but I always did my best, and with Warren beside me, matching me note for note and laughing his fool head off, I always had a blast. 

Warren, this howl is for you, wherever you are. I miss you, buddy.

Hopefully those goofs at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will take a tip from the King and induct Zevon soon.

Jack Torrance At The Minnesota Opera

"SING FOR ME!" The Phantom exhorted poor Christine in Phantom of the Opera.  With so much music coming from the work of Mr. King, I can almost hear the musicians crying, "Sing for me, Stevie, Sing!"

Kristin Tillotson at at Star Tribune has an article headlined, "Stephen King's 'The Shining' heads to Minnesota Opera."  

Right now it seems to be just the right time, as Stephen King is hot stuff with the popular Under The Dome on CBS and a sequel to The Shining coming out very soon.

Tilloston writes:

With King’s blessing, an opera version of “The Shining,” the 1977 work widely considered one of the top horror novels of all time, will premiere at Ordway Center in May 2016. Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Paul Moravec and librettist Mark Campbell are collaborating on the project. Campbell also wrote the books for the opera’s 2011 premiere of “Silent Night” and its upcoming “The Manchurian Candidate.”

As opera companies around the world seek contemporary works that bring with them added relevance to modern audiences, the commission of such a popular story by one of the world’s bestselling authors is a coup for Minnesota Opera.

Eric Simonson, who will direct, first floated the idea of adapting “The Shining” to artistic director Dale Johnson during a brainstorming session four years ago.

startribune.com

This reminds me of a wonderful exchange between Andy Williamson and myself about The Shining as a Musical.  Andy is the author of Brooding (which I am presently reading -- and enjoying very much.)

This is from April 1, 2012 -- but just as fun as ever!

With the Carrie musical about to drop out of sight, again, Andy Williamson, author of Brooding, spent some time wondering what a musical version of The Shining might look like.

Check it out at Williamson's sight, The Wordslinger (that there be a mighty fine web name, Mr. Williamson!

His idea was birthed from a discussion we had at a talkstephenking blog post titled, "Musical Confusion," which you can read HERE.

Williamson offers us some of these gems:

SHINING! – a musical in 3 acts

based on the novel by Stephen King

written and directed by Andy Williamson (HA!)

That's great, Andy.  You direct it, and I will be first in line to watch.  Williamson assures us he is only kidding. . . or is he?  HUH!  IS HE?  He writes, "given the over the top, operatic themes of this story, this might could actually work."  YIKES!  I'm intrigued. 

He offers some production ideas, such as (my favorites),

• O Danny Boy
• Come and play with us, Danny.  (HOLY SMOKE, BATMAN!  I be freaked out by this one.)
• You Gotta Watch Her, She Creeps (Boiler Song)
• Gimme the Bat, Wendy (The Bash Your Brains In Song)

Of course, Andy has these all in the correct order.  I can just hear it!  Unfortunately, all these songs run through my head with the tune of "What's the buzz, what's everyone talkin' about?" from Jesus Christ Superstar.  Well, except O Danny Boy.

The full article is HERE.  There is even a nifty graphic that I am resisting the urge to steal!

Why Is IT So Mean?

I've been on vacation with my family.  My mother loved the Stephen King novel IT. She mentioned several times that she wanted to see the mini-series, even though I discouraged her.  However, I finally gave in (okay, she didn't have to push too hard) and spent the $7.  I might have paid too much.

I haven't seen the entire mini-series in years. I was startled to discover just how good it is!  "This thing still bites," I said. The first half is excellent.  I find the scenes with the children over the top scary.  When the clown in interacting with children, their fear is very real.  But then something really bad happens -- and it's not Pennywise -- it's part 2.  All of it.

Part 2 should have been the stronger part, since it not only contains Pennywise's defeat, but well known actors take the stage.  These are people who, by 1990, had plenty of time to hone their craft.  But they were terrible!  The show sinks into melodrama.  Scenes that should scare, get a laugh.  When Pennywise makes bad  things come out of the fortune cookies, it's just flat out funny.  In fact, not once does the second half of IT produce a scare of any kind.

There is something sincere in the children's portrayals, and something quite plastic about the adults. Interesting how young people who did not have the time to learn to pretend brought the real deal to the small screen.

The second half fails to produce any real drama, romance or tension.  The viewer is not left wondering if Pennywise  will live or die.  In fact, by the time we get to the final battle with the monster, we've lost so much interest in these characters that it would be just A-Okay if the monster did take them down.

My favorite scenes: 

• The attack at the beginning of the show.  The girl playing on her trike, then you see a clown through the hanging cloths on the cloths line, then just a knocked over trike with the wheel still spinning -- outstanding!
• Pennywise and Georgie.  This is great stuff because it's so scary.  Everything about the scene is perfect.  Georgie scared of the dark basement; the rainy day; the boat floating in the drain; and that clown.  The scene is so good, it leaves you talking to the TV.  "Don't do it, Georgie!  Run!"  But his brother made him that boat, and your heart just goes out to the little guy.
• Pennywise and Bev.  When Bev hears the children's voices coming from the drain, I think that is down right spooky.   Worse, when the balloon explodes with blood all over the bathroom, it seems a little silly at first -- until she realizes her father can't see the blood!  She is a quick thinker and tells her daddy it was only a spider that scared her.
• Stanley's suicide, with the word IT written in blood in the bathtub.  My mom thought the scene was reminiscent of Psycho, where Janet Lee slides down the shower wall and you see a trail of blood.
• The scenes with the scrap book are kinda fun.  I like it when the thing drips blood, or when the pictures from back-when comes to life with Pennywise taking center stage.

Least favorite scenes: 

(Please keep in mind that this does not mean I disliked the same scene's in the book.  In fact, often these were scenes I thought rocked in the novel and was saddened they were not brought to life with any zeal.) 

• The attack on Pennywise at the end.
• Bill's final ride on Silver.  Great in the book -- not so great on TV.  Because, of  course, if your ride fast enough on a bike, people come out of their monster-induced coma.  
• Library with blood balloons.  Seriously?  And, only the Loosers Club is supposed to see the balloons, or Pennywise for that matter -- but there is a lady in the scene who definitely jumps when the balloon pops.
• . . . this list can get too long and critical.  You get the idea.

My favorite stupid line: Adult Bev to Ben, "Why is IT so mean?"  Why is it so mean?  WHY IS IT SO MEAN? BECAUSE IT'S A MONSTER!  They don't make nice monsters in Derry, you have to go to Mayberry for that one!

The 50's
The show authenticates a small town circa 1950's so well, it makes the stuff with the children more believable.  You get the feeling this really happened back then.

I was a Knotts Berry Farm with my family this week when a quartet came into the Johnny Rockets there  and asked if they could sing for us.  Sure!  Their song?  "It's alright."  Same song used in the movie during the dinner scene.  (The group was The MoonRays)

Final thought: There isn't much they can do on screen that beats what Stephen King can do with a  typewriter. 

Under The Dome Radio Station

check out -- Under The Dome radio.com

Radio.com interviewed Dome Music Supervisor Ann Kline.

She says that, for a number of reasons be it cost or otherwise, the music mentioned in the novel won’t always make it to the miniseries. 

“We can’t always use exactly what’s in the book, but the producers, directors and writers are totally cool and open-minded about using new and independent bands. It’s great to hear music that you know, but it’s also exciting to discover something new. But the story comes first.”

So what specific songs can we expect?  She didn't say!

 news.radio.com

Rock n King

Corey Deiterman at Houston Press posted an interesting article, "Stephen King's Five Best Rock and Roll References."

Deiterman explains, "With the release of Joyland, I decided to look back at some of King's best rock references and fixations throughout his legendary bibliography, and even his best-forgotten foray into directing films."

5. Pet Sematary (Ramones)

4. Lisey's Story

3. Christine

4. Nightmares and Dreamscapes 

("You Know They Got a Hell of a Band" is a pure rock story about a husband and wife who wander into a perfect town inhabited by the spirits of dead rock stars. On an unfortunate note, the story, first written in 1992, was updated for the 2006 teleplay to include George Harrison and Kurt Cobain, both of whom had died in the intervening years.)

1. Maximum Overdrive (AC/DC)

I especially like the entry for Chrsitine: 

King's Christine is about three things: a haunted car, a love triangle between three all-American teenagers, and 1950s rock and roll. Each chapter of the novel begins with a lyric from a '50s rock song about cars, a ubiquitous lyrical subject of the era, and its plot roughly mirrors a typical "car crash song"; though with a lot more supernatural stuff included. 

Ultimately, Christine can be read as a tribute of sorts to not only the era itself but the music of the era. King grew up in that time and no doubt absorbed a great deal of that early rock into his psyche, which is evident all over the novel.

The full article is at houstonpress.com

Stephen King Focus of Local Musical "The Opera House of Blood"

This is from www.bangorbytes.com

Joseph Field of Bangor admits on his youtube channel that he's a "non-musician, playing musical instruments, singing non-musically," but that hasn't stopped him from producing a collection of video demos for a musical about famed horror-writer, Stephen King. Entitled, THE OPERA HOUSE OF BLOOD, the musical "...tells the story of Stephen King coming face-to-face with the terrors he's created...and when the author comes home to a ceremony honoring his lifetime achievements, all Hell breaks loose at the Bangor Opera House. Literally." With musical numbers like The Troop Greeters vs Stephen King, Beep Beep, Richie!, and the above video Bath Salts Zombies (featuring art by Pigeon & Leadbetters on Hammond Street), the musical is sure

Carrie Underwood Takes CHRISTINE for a spin

THIS IS COOL!

Carrie Underwood gets revenge in her new music video titled, "Two Black Cadillacs."  The video was greatly influenced by Stephen King's CHRISTINE.  The story follows a wife getting revenge on a cheating husband.  The preacher says he was a "good man" and the brother said he was a "good friend" -- but two women with veils aren't crying. His lover was unaware he was married, and it appears the two women worked together to do him in.  They meet for the first time at the cemetery, each having arrived in a black Cadillac.

Who did the killing?  The wife?  The girlfriend?  The car?  Does the car have a mind of its own?

Taste of Country notes,

Underwood said in a preview on ‘Entertainment Tonight’ that she would not move forward with that concept without King’s blessing. He “signed off” on the idea, and Underwood was good to go.

One scene looks like it's right out of Christine, as the car chases the unfaithful husband down a narrow dead-end alley.

Watch to the end. . . that car healed itself.  Familiar?

So in a year that looks like the craze will be CARRIE, a singer named Carrie makes a video themed around Christine.  All the while, King himself prepares to give us the sequel to his classic novel The Shining.  Vintage King rules!

Dolores Claiborne An Opera

Photo Credit: www.examiner.com

Stephen King on stage. . . on tape. . . on CD. . . on film. . . on TV. . . on Opera !!!

Imagine the Phantom, "SING, DOLORES, SING!"

Edward Ortiz posted an article in the Sacramento Bee titled, "S.F. Opera announces season to mark 80th year at War Memorial."  And on the docket is  King's novel Dolores Claiborne that will be taking the stage of the opera house.

Ortiz writes:

One of the highlights of the season will be the commissioned opera "Dolores Claiborne," based on King's 1992 novel. That work will offer music by Tobias Picker and a libretto by J.D. McClatchy. The appearance of a commission such as "Claiborne" is par for the course for San Francisco Opera general director David Gockley, who has built a reputation as a keen commissioner of new works. Since he took over the reins in San Francisco in 2006 he has commissioned or co-comissioned six operas, including the current season's dramatically bracing production of "Moby Dick" by Jake Heggie.

The appearance of an opera based on a King novel comes with the expectation that such works will get people into the opera house in a period of back-to-back yearly deficits for the company.

The production premieres Sept. 18 and stars standout soprano Dolora Zajick in the title role." 'Claiborne' is a gutsy, powerful American verismo work," said Gockley. "It's an opera that offers very strong challenges and one that asks singers to respond emotionally. … I think Zajick will tear up the stage."

"Dolores Claiborne" will take stage September 18-Oct. 4.  This is one of my favorite King!

The Dark Tower Musical Inspiration

photo credit: HERE

What do you do when your band has written "every possible break-up song there can be"?  Rachel Hirsh, the vocalist/keyboardist for a band called "I Was Totally Destroying It" said that was her problem.  She'd written it all!  So, wanting to move on to new territory, she stepped into the world of the Dark Tower.

According to al.Com, the bands August release album “Vexations" is a loose concept album inspired by the “The Dark Tower.”

Hirsh says,

"I’ve always been a HUGE Stephen King fan, even getting in trouble in middle school for reading his books during class. In the Dark Tower series there are a lot of human themes such as obsession and addiction, which I can relate to. We pulled from some of the more universal subject matter in the series, and simultaneously drew inspiration from our own experiences.

The full article is HERE.

Michael Jackson: GHOSTS

Stephen King had a part in creating the story for Michael Jackson's music video, Ghost.

The Stephen King Wiki gives this explanation:

Ghosts – also known as Michael Jackson's Ghosts – is a 1997 short film – or, alternately, a long-form music video – starring Michael Jackson and directed by Stan Winston from a story written by Jackson and Stephen King. 

The video runs 39:31, and first aired on 9 May 1997. On 8 December 1997, SMV Enterprises released the movie on VHS.

The Stephen King Wiki article  is HERE.

Billy Joel Sings 11.22.63

You've heard the song, "We Didn't Start The Fire" by Billy Joel -- right?

Matt Selman has posted at entertainment.time.com that he has written a version of the song as it would have been recorded if the events in 11.22.63 had taken place.  Of course, in 11.22.63,  the assassination of president John Kennedy is foiled by George (Jake) Ameberson.


Selman explains:

“A few ‘real’ references have been included because A) I inferred they would have also have occurred in the King Universe, and B) I ran out of new historical information, of which the book does not give much,” Selman says. “Also, for some reason unknowable alternative history reason, alternative history Billy Joel chose to put out this version of ‘We Didn’t Start The Fire’ in 2012.”

The full song  is at the link below.  Here is the part that picks up where serious time changes are established:

J.F.K. NOT BLOWN AWAY, AMBERSON SAVES THE DAY!
We didn’t start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world’s been turning
We didn’t start the fire
No, we didn’t light it
But we tried to fight it
Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, EARTHQUAKE IN LOS ANGELES
MARTIN SHOT, SAIGON ROCKED, CHICAGO BURNS, HANOI DROP
WALLACE DEAD, CURT LEMAY, BYE-BYE BOMBAY
Ayatollah’s in Iran, RONALD REAGAN’S DEADLY PLAN
BLIND BEATLE, JONESTOWN, VERMONT YANKEE MELTDOWN
FORD BREEZE, MORE QUAKES, AIDS, Crack, MIAMI SHAKES
HOKKAIDO IS UNDER SEAS, PRESIDENT HILARY
MAINE LEAVES USA, WHAT ELSE DO I HAVE TO SAY? 

Full article: entertainment.time.com

The PENNYWISE band

John Tuckness has a slideshow posted at examiner.com (HERE) of the Pennywise band.  The band gets its name from the monster in Stephen King’s novel IT.

The article (taken from wikipedia) reads:

Pennywise is a Californian punk rock band from Hermosa Beach, California, formed in 1988. The name is derived from the monster, It, from the Stephen King novel of the same title. 

Between their 1991 self-titled debut and 2005's The Fuse, Pennywise had released an album every two years on Epitaph Records, a label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. To date, the band has released ten full-length studio albums (the last being 2012's All or Nothing), one live album, two EPs and one DVD. Although their first two studio albums were critically acclaimed, Pennywise would not experience worldwide commercial success until the 1995 release of their third studio album, About Time, which peaked at number ninety-six on the Billboard 200, and number fifty-five on Australia's ARIA Charts. The band's mainstream success was signified by a growing interest in punk rock during the 1990s, along with fellow California bands NOFX, Rancid, Blink-182, Bad Religion, Green Day, The Offspring and Sublime. By 2007, the band had independently sold over 3 million records worldwide, making them one of the most successful independent punk acts of all time. (wiki)

I wonder if they have a song titled, "THEY FLOAT!"

Music From THE SHINING mini-sires

2004 Salem’s Lot Mini-Series

Since I just finished reading about Salem’s Lot, and watching the 1978 mini-series, I also gave the 2004 miniseries a whirl.  (181 minutes)

Composer Christopher Gordon's site notes, "Salem's Lot premieres on the TNT cable channel on June 20th and 21st, 2004 to be broadcast throughout the summer and shown worldwide later in the year."

I’m going to tell you now, I liked it.

The less likable stuff:

I’m reading a lot of fans who absolutely hated this film, and probably with good reason.  There’s a lot to hate here!  In particular, the story is so heavily changed at unnecessary points.

When King gave us the unabridged version of The Stand he pointed out that we would not find old characters behaving in new ways.  Their behavior would remain consistent with what we found in the abridgement.  I think that is what fans also expect of movies.  We’re okay with new scenes, or even story changes – so long as characters remain consistent with who they are in the novel.  But in this version, Father Callahan in particular is a very different character.  And, for a movie that wanted to so honor King’s work, it doesn’t make sense to mess up the Callahan character, who is necessary for the Dark Tower.

Another example is the story of Dr. Cody.  He is tricked into an affair, and then extorted.  This is to combine another story from the novel – but it doesn’t work with Cody’s character in the book.

Some of the complaining about this movie is just ridiculous.  One website whined that the movie’s narration is not read by Rob Lowe in the same voice that he acts in the movie.  That’s because. . . he’s narrating!  

Now, for what I did like. . .

1. I liked the references to other King works.

• The music in the background of the bar: Stand By Me.
• Rob Lowe also starred in The Stand.
• Andre Braugher, who plays Matt Burke also played Brent Norton in The Mist.
• Father Calahan is played by James Cromwell, who also played the warden in The Green Mile.
• Background as they search for missing children, “Shut up, Cujo.”

2. This is an all star cast!  Donald Southerland, Rob Lowe both do great.

3.This version does a nice job of telling more of the back story than the original mini-series.  It also doesn’t have that strange 70s tv feel.  The narration quotes large passages from the book as the Lot is described.

4.  I really like the Marsten House!  The inside is delapadated, like a long forsaken building might be expected to be.

5. I like the dark, shadowy Barlow in this.

6. Oh, them Vampires are a nasty brew!  Very nice.  I like the way the vampires leap about and crawl naturally on the ceiling.  A very nice, freaky, touch!  They feel like real animals in human skin.

7. At points, this version is much closer to the novel.  Not only is the narration drawn directly from the book, but the scene in which Barlow confronts the priest is very similiar.  Allowing the vampire to speak is great, and Rutger Hauer (who plays Kurt Barlow) does it so well.  He doesn’t turn into Bella L., or try and be anything other than Mr. Barlow.  He is energetic, condescending and flat out mean.  This is a scary Barlow.

8. It is neat when people get bit.  For all the fear they have of getting gnawed on by a vamp, once it actually happens, the experience appears euphoric.

The review at 80's fear notes:

“The smaller touches often work the best, such as Petrie’s models now including Cenobites instead of the standard Universal monsters or the subtle way the abuse committed by the young mother against her baby is handled. Donald Sutherland is great as Straker, Dan Byrd is good as Mark Petrie, while Rutger Hauer and Andre Braugher give great performances in slightly underwritten roles that keep them offscreen too long. The Marsten house also appears a much more menacing structure, looming over the town, while 90% of the second half gets things right and manage to stay fairly close to the novel (at least until the stupid character change in Callahan, especially stupid given the character’s tales of the events following Salem’s Lot in the same year’s novel Wolves Of The Calla), the fifth of the Dark Towerseries.” (HERE)

The Music

Composer Christopher Gordon has a lot of information about the music in this mini-series(HERE)

Asked if he read the book, Gordon replied: "By the time I came on to the project the film was nearing the end of editing. I haven't read the book and I think it is important that the composer score the film that's in front of him or her. There can be quite a difference in structure, interpretation and tone from the script by the time the director has shaped it and the actors, cinematographer and editor have brought their ideas to it. So the book is even further removed. The composer's inspiration and challenges are what's on the screen."

Gordon's site also notes:

For this lavish production, Christopher has paired with internationally-renowned vocal soloist Lisa Gerrard, whose distinctive work with composer Hans Zimmer on Gladiator (2000) garnered her a Golden Globe. For Salem's Lot, Lisa jointly-contributed to three cues, which are represented on the soundtrack album as "Bloody Pirates, "Converting The Priest", and "Salem's Lot Theme". Lisa also composed "Salem's Lot Aria", with Patrick Cassidy, and "Free in Spirit". 

Recorded between October and December, 2003 at the newly-constructed Trackdown Scoring Stage in Sydney, the score to Salem's Lot was brought alive by the choir Cantillation and the composer's regular session orchestra, Pro Musica Sydney. Gordon's score, whilst constructed around a diatonic key centre, derives a proportion of its material from a series of aleatoric cells and harmonic clusters used to form a structured montage. Thematically, his music is driven by a need to define strength in the face of sheer adversity, accentuating the nature of the evil that has overridden the Marsten House and which now pervades Jerusalem's Lot.

King working with John Mellencamp

Sound Spike reports that Aerosmith is working on several new projects. The story also revealed that Stephen King is working with singer-song writer John Mellencamp.

Here's the quote from Sound Spike:

The band reportedly has been recording backing tracks, and frontman Steven Tyler plans to lay down vocal tracks after he finishes up his judging duties on "American Idol." (Tyler is also scheduled to appear on the Feb. 27 episode of ABC-TV's "Jimmy Kimmel Live.")

Tyler could be working with some unusual collaborators. Douglas told MusicRadar that Tyler took him up on his suggestion to collaborate with director Robert Rodriguez, who is also a musician. He added that he is waiting to hear back from director Tim Burton about a possible collaboration.

Douglas was hoping to get Tyler in a room with novelist Steven King as well.  "As it turned out, Stephen King said, 'I wish you had contacted me a month earlier -- I'm writing with John Mellencamp!' How funny is that? People thought I lost my mind, and there he is, working with Mellencamp," Douglas said.

Full article HERE