When the late Michael Been of The Call was working on the soundtrack to the 1992 film “Light Sleeper,” his then-teenage son, Robert Levon Been, later of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, would hide when the film’s director, Paul Schrader, came to Been’s home to check on the music’s progress.
“Everything was recorded in our house, DIY style, on analog, in the living room,” recalls Been, speaking from Vienna, Austria. “I was a snob and obnoxious and would say, ‘This is shit, this is good.’ I’d play a guitar or bass part and say, ‘Try this, try that.’ Sometimes my dad would use it. I was caught out a few times by [Schrader] who asked my dad if he was not paying him enough to bring in real musicians. But it stuck in his head enough where he might give me a call someday.”
Almost 20 years later, Schrader returns...
“Everything was recorded in our house, DIY style, on analog, in the living room,” recalls Been, speaking from Vienna, Austria. “I was a snob and obnoxious and would say, ‘This is shit, this is good.’ I’d play a guitar or bass part and say, ‘Try this, try that.’ Sometimes my dad would use it. I was caught out a few times by [Schrader] who asked my dad if he was not paying him enough to bring in real musicians. But it stuck in his head enough where he might give me a call someday.”
Almost 20 years later, Schrader returns...
- 9/10/2021
- by Lily Moayeri
- Variety Film + TV
“I have decided to keep a journal. Not in a word program or digital file, but in longhand, writing every word out so that every inflection of penmanship, every word chosen, scratched out, revised, is recorded. To set down all my thoughts and the simple events of my day factually and without hiding anything. When writing about oneself, one should show no mercy. I will keep this diary for one year; 12 months. And at the end of that time, it will be destroyed. Shredded, then burnt. The experiment will be over.” Searching narration binds Paul Schrader’s work, the lone ranger facing a crisis of faith, unable to shake off the past. The above dialogue introduces Ethan Hawke’s Reverend Ernst Toller at the beginning of First Reformed (2017). Schrader’s characters share their own folklore and throughout this mix their tales come and go. The lyrics take on the form of character too,...
- 9/9/2021
- MUBI
Stars: Willem Dafoe, Harvey Keitel, Barbara Hershey, Michael Been, Verna Bloom, Harry Dean Stanton | Written by Paul Schrader | Directed by Martin Scorsese
After The Color of Money had proven a box office hit, Martin Scorsese shifted his attention a couple of thousand years, to the life and death of Jesus Christ (Willem Dafoe). The ultimate superhero origin story, The Last Temptation of Christ focuses on the Nazarene as he moves from carpentry into public speaking, through a life of celebrity, and ultimately to his death and apotheosis on the cross.
This being Scorsese working from a Paul Schrader script, it is no straight-up Bible story. Based on Nikos Kazantzakis’ 1955 novel, the focus here is on the human aspects of the man: the doubt and desire; the rage and the covetousness. The psychological impact, if you will, of coming to terms with the revelation that you are the son of God.
After The Color of Money had proven a box office hit, Martin Scorsese shifted his attention a couple of thousand years, to the life and death of Jesus Christ (Willem Dafoe). The ultimate superhero origin story, The Last Temptation of Christ focuses on the Nazarene as he moves from carpentry into public speaking, through a life of celebrity, and ultimately to his death and apotheosis on the cross.
This being Scorsese working from a Paul Schrader script, it is no straight-up Bible story. Based on Nikos Kazantzakis’ 1955 novel, the focus here is on the human aspects of the man: the doubt and desire; the rage and the covetousness. The psychological impact, if you will, of coming to terms with the revelation that you are the son of God.
- 4/17/2019
- by Rupert Harvey
- Nerdly
Brussels (AP) — The lead singer of a British pop trio climbed a telecommunications mast behind the main stage at a Belgian rock festival and leaped to his death in the parking lot below, police said Saturday. Twenty-two-year-old Charles Haddon of Ou Est Le Swimming Pool died late Friday during the Pukkelpop festival in Hasselt, a town in eastern Belgium. District attorney Marc Rubens said police were treating the death as a suicide. Festival organizers said Haddon's family has been notified. On Thursday, Michael Been, frontman for the U.S. group The Call, died of an apparent heart attack at the same...
- 8/22/2010
- Hitfix
Charles Haddon, the frontman of acclaimed British band Ou Est Le Swimming Pool, has committed suicide. Dutch website Parool.nl reports the singer/songwriter took his own life after performing at Belgium's Pukkelpop festival on Friday, August 20.
He reportedly killed himself by climbing to the top of a satellite mast in a backstage parking area and jumping off. The tragedy has been confirmed by festival organizers, who staged a press conference late on Friday, August 20.
It's the second tragedy of the event - The Call's Michael Been suffered a heart attack backstage at Pukkelpop and died on Thursday, August 19. Haddon was in the middle of a European festival tour with his London-based trio.
Ou Est Le Swimming Pool is an English synthpop duo from Camden, Lonson. They have released three singles to date, with an album to follow in October 2010. They outed their debut single "Dance the Way I Feel...
He reportedly killed himself by climbing to the top of a satellite mast in a backstage parking area and jumping off. The tragedy has been confirmed by festival organizers, who staged a press conference late on Friday, August 20.
It's the second tragedy of the event - The Call's Michael Been suffered a heart attack backstage at Pukkelpop and died on Thursday, August 19. Haddon was in the middle of a European festival tour with his London-based trio.
Ou Est Le Swimming Pool is an English synthpop duo from Camden, Lonson. They have released three singles to date, with an album to follow in October 2010. They outed their debut single "Dance the Way I Feel...
- 8/21/2010
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
Michael Been, founder of Bay Aread band the Call, suffered a heart attack backstage at Belgian music festival Pukkelpop Thursday and died. He was 60 years old. At the fest, Been had been manning sound for Black Rebel Motorcylce Club, which his son Robert Levon Been fronts. He was often considered to be the off-stage, fourth member of the band and helped co-produce their albums. Known as the bandleader for the rock act behind "The Walls Came Down," Been had also released a single solo record in 1994 after the band's popularity died down. The Call released more than a half...
- 8/20/2010
- by HitFix Staff
- Hitfix
Beatles Night on American Idol was not a disaster. Great. This marks a victory for this crop of American Idol contestants. I only counted four performances that I would deem “poor” tonight, which was less than I expected. Speaking as a Beatles super-fan, I never understood the uproar regarding American Idol contestants performing songs from the beloved Lennon/McCartney song book. Being allowed to sing great songs is never a bad thing. Sure, there was the possibility that they would butcher these incredible songs, but doesn't that happen all the time with Beatles songs? Regardless, I was more or less pleased with tonight's two-hour episode of American Idol. I'm sure you readers will have some serious qualms with parts of my rankings below – feel free to comment and tell me where I'm wrong. Remember, these rankings are only about my favorites of the night – they aren't about who I think will be going home.
- 3/11/2008
- by BuddyTV
- buddytv.com
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