Tag Archives: Roy Orbison

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Song of the Day #6,137: ‘In Dreams’ – Roy Orbison

The failure of Dune knocked David Lynch down quite a few pegs, and the budget of his next film was a meager $6 million, a far cry from the $40 million he spent on the sci-fi bomb.

“I was down so far that anything was up,” he said about his time in the cinematic doghouse. “So it was just a euphoria. And when you work with that kind of feeling, you can take chances. You can experiment.”

That experiment took the form of a story that had been percolating in Lynch’s brain for more than a decade, a seedy tale of suburban America’s dark underbelly. And with 1986’s Blue Velvet, he delivered an unsettling triumph that embodied the term Lynchian.

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Song of the Day #6,073: ‘Evergreen’ – Roy Orbison

Continuing my countdown of last year’s best films…

Best Films of 2024
#8. The Beast

I had read that Bertrand Bonello’s romantic sci-fi epic was a tough watch — the sort of impenetrable art film that leaves you more confused than moved. So I was delighted when it turned out to be an ambitious but easily decipherable tale of a couple whose love affair spans centuries.

Based (very) loosely on the Henry James novella The Beast in the Jungle, The Beast follows Gabrielle and Louis, played by Léa Seydoux and George MacKay, through three timelines: France in 1910, Los Angeles in 2014, and 2044 in an unnamed city ruled by artificial intelligence.

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Song of the Day #5,937: ‘Oh, Pretty Woman’ – Roy Orbison and The Candy Men

In the first week of October, 1864, Roy Orbison had his second (and final) #1 hit with the song most associated with him: ‘Oh, Pretty Woman.’

This was long before Van Halen has a Top 20 hit with the track in 1982, and even longer before Julia Roberts became a household name starring in a movie of the same name in 1990.

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Song of the Day #958: ‘Not Alone Anymore’ – Traveling Wilburys

In 1988, five musical legends (and good friends) joined forces to create what remains the finest “supergroup” ever formed.

That band was the Traveling Wilburys, comprised of Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and George Harrison. Their self-titled debut album, the only one they recorded with the full lineup, outshines much of the solo work released by the individual members.

The album is a mix of countrified folk rock that manages to play to the strengths of each Wilbury without lapsing into a series of solo performances. They sound throughout the record like a true band, supporting and enhancing each other’s turn at center stage.

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