UB40’s “Red Red Wine” (written by Neil Diamond)
From Sliver
This reggae fueled re-make of the Neil Diamond classic is the steamiest scene and accompanying music video I can think of…the likes of which I haven’t seen since. William Baldwin and Sharon Stone are perfect accomplices to the lovers’ musical mayhem.

Stevie Wonder’s “I Believe” (written by Stevie Wonder)
From High Fidelity
I bought the soundtrack because of this closing song. It hits home, hard…a perfect 10/10. Kudos to the film’s co-music supervisors, D.V. DeVincentis and John Cusack, for this classic track selection.

Frank Sinatra’s “Come Fly with Me” (written by Bart Howard)
From Wall Street
What an opening credit to set the mood…dawn in Manhattan, ‘Ol Blue Eyes crooning and the smell of the late ‘80s overindulgence seeping through the screen.

INXS’s “People Are Strange” (written by The Doors)
From The Lost Boys
The heavyweight of all vampire movies, The Lost Boys’ opening song placement is chilling, eerie, gripping and feverish. The flexing cinematography helps bring the tune to a whole new level.

Randy Newman’s “Burn On”
From Major League
“There’s a red moon rising/on the Cuyahoga River/rolling into Cleveland/to the lake.” I’ve loved the Cleveland Indians and Randy Newman ever since…

Check out the new issue (July/August) for film-music picks from Ethan Hawke & Cameron Crowe.

In no particular order:


1. Todd Snider, Happy To Be Here (2001)

2. Dave Loggins, Personal Belongings (1971)

3. Robert Lee Castleman, Crazy Like Me (2000)

4. Emmylou Harris, Luxury Liner (1977)

5. JJ Cale, Naturally (1971)

6. Radney Foster, See What You Want to See (1999)

7. Billy Joe Shaver, Old Five and Dimers Like Me (1973)

8. Jamey Johnson, The Dollar (2006)

9. Charlie Rich, Set Me Free (1968)

10. Tim Hardin, Tim Hardin 1 (1966)

11. Chris Knight, Chris Knight (1997)

12. Slaid Cleaves, Wishbones (2004)

13. Nanci Griffith, Other Voices, Other Rooms (1993)

14. Ronnie Milsap, Pure Love (1974)

15. Michael Penn, March (1989)

16. Loudon Wainwright, Last Man on Earth (2001)

17. Grant-Lee Phillips, Virginia Creeper (2004)

18. Paul Westerberg, Eventually (1998)

19. Patty Griffin, A Kiss In Time (2003)

20. Kris Kristofferson, Spooky Lady’s Sideshow (1974)

1. “Lay Low”/ “One Big Holiday” – My Morning Jacket, Friday 12-4 AM
Jim James controls the weather. I’m convinced. The entire crowd at this epic four-hour set was convinced. You should be too. Throughout the show, James used some newly acquired evil powers to mold the rain—which had held out until he and his band took the stage—like a Hollywood special-effects coordinator. A slow ballad brought light, atmospheric drizzle. During the set break, the skies cleared to let the dazed crowd of rain-soaked fans regroup and try to warm up. But during these two songs—these colossal feats of epic guitar-driven rock and roll (the latter featuring a guest appearance by Metallica’s Kirk Hammett)—the clouds swelled, and the rain came down in torrents. James and company leaned into and powered through the monsoon they had summoned as their energy surged across the entire grounds of Bonnaroo. The epileptic-nightmare light show made the thousands of glowsticks in the air jump and stutter across their arcs, which, combined with the driving rain, gave the entire scene the visual appearance of an old grainy movie. And oh, how they rocked. After “Lay Low” came to its crashing end—at which point the rain abruptly turned back from torrent to drizzle—a giddy teenager next to me put his arms around me and told me that that had been the greatest ten minutes of his life. I couldn’t disagree.

2. “The Battle of Evermore” – Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Sunday 6:15-7:45 PM
As soon as I heard those unmistakable mandolin riffs, my heart skipped a beat. It was somewhat of a childhood dream-come-true to see Plant performing this one—probably my favorite Zeppelin song of all time—and it was made all the more memorable by the support of the angelic force of nature that is Alison Krauss. The bluegrass diva certainly left more of a footprint than Sandy Denny had on the original cut from IV, even stepping in at times to help mask Plant’s inability to hit the higher notes. Even though Plant’s vocals couldn’t reach the soaring octaves of his youth, his invincible stage presence and unparalleled rock star-confidence translated into an unforgettable performance of this Zeppelin classic.

3. “Transatlanticism” – Death Cab for Cutie, Sunday, 7-8:30 PM
As the sun went down one last time over Bonnaroo 2008, Death Cab for Cutie ended their set with the perfect metaphoric cap on the day and the entire weekend (sorry Spreadheads). By this point, it’s hard to imagine being more tired, dehydrated, dirty, sore, hungover, sunburnt, or just all around burnt-out, but for the briefest of moments during this song’s nearly ten minute span, all of that went away. Fans passed around incense candles as a cool breeze swept across the field hand-in-hand with Ben Gibbard’s epic rumination on separation and isolation. It was hard not to see the parallels, as thousands of Bonnaroo-ers prepared to set out on return trips to homes across the country and the world, and our oh-so-brief few days of community splintered into “thousands upon thousands” of separate worlds and lives that “made an ocean making islands where no islands should go.” Still, even as we pulled out onto I-24 with a tear and goodbye, the song’s hopeful conclusion rang in our ears.

Jim James




Sam Beam






Jack Johnson

Here is a video that Jeff Wyatt Wilson of Wilson Independent made:


Ten Out of Tenn Tour....coming soon.

Posted by Davis Inman

Photo by Robert Clement

Around the same time Willie Nelson was finishing up “Red Headed Stranger,” another redhead (Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley) was laying a bass line into an L.A.-pop rocker not quite yelling distance away from Willie and the Family on Which Stage. And if redheads weren’t your thing, you could have skirted over to That Tent where M.I.A. had filled the stage with “the boys” and was letting loose, transporting another kind of humidity, people-energy and eclecticism to Tennessee.

Such was a moment in time from Friday evening at Bonnaroo. On Thursday night we made it down to Manchester (driving from Nashville) in time to catch a performance by MGMT, the Brooklyn-based band who recently signed to Columbia Records. The band let their infectious sound free in the tent, mixing whining, boyish singing with round, fluid guitar tone.

The show everyone was buzzing about kicked off at midnight on Friday, and so did the weather. The rain became a character in My Morning Jacket’s sensuous and spiritualized drama, with Jim James seeming to revel in the extra element. This was MMJ’s biggest stage yet at Bonnaroo, and while much has been written about the symbolism of the Louisville band and the festival, the visceral truth of the evening for the audience was in a glorifying, joyous and soulful performance of American music.

Not to be outdone by the festival’s Friday night mascots, however, was another proponent of truly American music from a different era. Levon Helm brought his homey Woodstock, N.Y.-grown blend of tunes back down south on Saturday afternoon – and it sure felt like home. After bringing down the house with “The Weight, ” Levon humbly rose arms with each individual member of his band – The Ramble on the Road – and the crowd seemed to lift him up just the same. It was a beautfiful tribute to the man and probably one he receives almost anywhere he plays nowadays.

One last star of the show was the beautiful, haunting Chan Marshall of Cat Power. With her excellent backing band, The Memphis Rhythm Band, supporting, Marshall enveloped herself in the songs like a brilliant but erratic moth to a flame. After all the festival’s musical farewells, she still seems the most bewitching – offering a strange, stunning, intimate performance with 70,000 people mulling about in a giant field in Middle Tennessee.

Photo by Robert Clement

We’re not camping out on the grounds of Bonnaroo this year (didn’t get an RV), and it was working out just fine…until 4 AM last night. If we had been pulled over for speeding, our only weary reply to the officer would have been, “It’s Jim James’ fault.”

Not camping does allow us to get back home allows us to and get rest in our own comfy beds and enjoy those much needed hot showers—by the end of each night, they’re about the greatest f-ing thing since sliced bread.

Friday at Bonnaroo exemplified the festival’s eccentricity while not substituting quality. An overcast day yielded more energetic and fun-loving crowds.

Rilo Kiley’s set at This Tent provided just the right amount of soft-pop-rock confection to whet our appetites with some old “goodies” from their back catalogue and newer one’s from Under the Blacklight.

Midway through we scoped out That Tent where M.I.A. was scheduled to play. Earlier in the day, it was rumored that she would not appear as she announced the cancellation of her European tour. But sure enough, M.I.A. was in the house (tent) full force with an explosive live performance where everyone was dancing. She tickled the crowd’s fancy with her hits, invited dozens of folks on stage to get down and thanked all for blowing out her “last gig.”

We scooted over to the Which Stage a living legend was playing—Willie Nelson. The crowd swayed, cut a little rug and sang along word-for-word to Nelson’s “Red-Headed Stranger,” “Crazy” and more. It was the perfect lighthearted warm-up for some chuckles with Chris Rock.

Metallica. What else can we say? Metallica busted out their hits to get the Bonnaroo crowd into it…and it worked. The pyro show shock-and-awed, while the metal vets powered through “One” and “Enter Sandman.” They did a gnarly job and really fed the crowd. Nonetheless, we were ready for the much-anticipated event of the evening, My Morning Jacket’s midnight set at the Which Stage.

Jim James’ and company broke out of the gates with many of their new tracks interspersed with an occasional track from Z. It was zealous, but a little slow…then the Louisville-Nashville Area Horns, along with a shred session with guest Kirk Hammett of Metallica helped MMJ muscle through the set. The rain during the first set hammered our spirits down, so it wasn’t entirely their own doing. Once the shower eased up, so did we. Fatigue melted away when the crew came out again. The second set featured some killer covers including Velvet Underground’s “Oh! Sweet Nuthin’.” But alas, the rain couldn’t stay away—at 3 AM, we had to hit the road. Jim James serenaded the crowd to “Librarian” as we made a bee-line for the car. We missed an appearance by Zach Galifianakis, yet somehow, we think made the right call: we got home safe and sound, and it’s time to get back down there…

SIGN UP HERE TO RECEIVE LYRIC OF THE WEEK!