Celebrity Jukebox #134: Val Kilmer

He was Jim Morrison* and Elvis Presley**.

He was The Iceman.

He was Batman, a good enough Batman, in a not-that-great Batman movie.

He even played the voice of KITT the car in a Knight Rider remake.

*In Oliver Stone's The Doors, Val did an excellent Jim Morrison impression, in looks, speech and song...

(**In Tony Scott's film of Quentin Tarantino's True Romance.)

Val Kilmer had a huge screen presence when I was growing up. His star has dwindled and he's been fighting throat cancer in recent years (reluctant to engage with medical procedures due to his religious beliefs), but his death, at only 65, still comes as a shock.

On hearing of his passing, I immediately remembered Father John Misty name-dropping him in this story of faded Hollywood glamour from his 2022 LP Chloë and the Next 20th Century.

Val Kilmer had a wall length
Mirror just over there
Well, I'm sure he's someone else now
But he was Batman when he lived here

Next up: Lee Majors. Not that one! This Lee Majors was a rapper in Da Bush Babees, but he also teamed up with Green for this little ditty from Scritti...

I swear I bring the Heat to tracks like Val Kilmer

Scritti Politti - Tinseltown To The Boogiedown

Hundreds of rappers namedrop Val in their lyrics, probably because of his tough guy / take no shit image, but rap will never be my specialist subject, so I'll close today with our old friends Bowling For Soup... even if they do think Val "sucked as Batman". You can't please all the people all the time.

Listening Post #27: Jump In The Line

There's two ways we can look at this one...

1. Ash are desperate for a bit of radio airplay to remind folk that they're still out there, 30+ years on. (Ash formed in 1992, when Tim Wheeler was just 15.)

2. The members of Ash are now turning 50 and have stopped giving two hoots what anyone thinks of them, they just want to have some fun.

It doesn't really matter. This is great.

But then, so was the original. This isn't a comparison post. It is possible to have two great versions of a song in existence with the universe exploding...

Namesakes #131: Fools

What a load of Fools there are in this world! Especially in the world of music.

On April Fool's Day then, we celebrate bands who are Fools.

Be warned: a couple of these might break some rules, because today is the first of April. But you know what rules are for? Fools!

THE FOOLS #1

We start with a Swedish rock n roll band from 1965 who appear to have specialised mostly in covers, like this one, originally done by Bobby Darin.

The Fools - Bull Moose

THE (APRIL) FOOLS #2

Our first offering to upset the sticklers... but I was hardly going to leave them out today. Sunshine pop from 1968, produced by Wayne Carson, who also wrote The Letter for the Box Tops and co-wrote Always On My Mind.

The April Fools - Things Go Better With You

FOOLS #3

Netherlands-based Fools, part of the Dutch "Palingsound" (Eel Pop) movement in the late 60s / early 70s. 

Fools - Going Back In Time

THE FOOLS #4

Ipswich-based band who got together in 1976. Ipswich, Massachusetts, that is. Had a long and distinguished (?) career stretching as far as 2017 (and beyond?) with dubiously-titled songs such as She Looks Alright In The Dark and Life Sucks, Then You Die.

George is going to hate me for this, but I laughed out loud when I listened to their biggest "hit". (I hope Talking Heads were adequately compensated.)

The Fools - Psycho Chicken

(APRIL AND) THE FOOLS #5

Another one to irk the purists... 

April (aka singer Barb Dwyer) & The Fools came from Brighton in 1980. This track crops up on quite a few early 80s post-punk compilations, but it's all I can find by them.

April & The Fools - You Do

THE FOOLS #6

Japanese Fools, formed in 1980, and still kicking around in the last few years.

The Fools - Mr. Freedom

FOOLS #7

French hair-metal Fools from 1991...

Fools - Vicious Life

THE FOOLS #8

Grungey Fools from Newcastle... Newcastle, Australia, that is. On the go since the late 90s, but this was released in 2015.

The Fools - Jesus Drives A Sandman

THE FOOLS #9

Lo-fi indie Fools from 2015...

The Fools - Bing Bong

(APRIL) FOOLS #10

More French Fools from 2014, appropriate for today. They're very proud of the fact that they have two bassists, a drummer... and no guitarist.

April Fools - Everybody Talks

THE (APRIL) FOOLS #11

Even more rule-breaking Fools from seven years ago...

The April Fools - Calling The Kettle Black

THE FOOLS #12

Bluesy Southern Rock Fools from 2018...

The Fools - Lay It Down, Lady

FOOLS #13

Polish Fools, also from 2018. They claim this one shows their "disco funky side". 

Fools - Haircut

FOOLS #14

Sweaty Texan Fools from 2019...

Fools - Metamorphoses

FOOLS #15

More Aussie Fools, who recorded this during lockdown...

FOOLS - Best Part

FOOLS #16

And finally, say hello to LA resident and multi-instrumentalist Chris Bear, playing gigs in Cambridge in June, if you're around. Here he is with a Bacharach & David composition that's perfect for today...

Fools - April Fools

Fools rush in... but which ones do you wish would rush straight back out again? And which tunes make you want to play The Fools?